WALES

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps she has taken since her appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within her responsibility.

David Jones: We have no plans for any expenditure on conferences.

Departmental Overtime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on overtime for staff working within her private office in each of the last five years.

David Jones: The following amounts were spent on overtime for staff in the Secretary of State's private office in the last five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 3,910 
			 2006-07 4,062 
			 2007-08 4,385 
			 2008-09 14,567 
			 2009-10 14,577 
		
	
	The Wales Office has instigated a freeze on overtime claims across all teams, encouraging staff to instead take time off in lieu for additional hours worked to improve the work life balance of members of staff.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

David Jones: The Wales Office spent the following amounts on press cuttings:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2008-09 3,910 
			 2009-10 11,794 
			 2010-11 6,991 
		
	
	The costs in 2008-09 cover payments from December 2008, when the contract started, until March 2009. The costs of press cuttings before December 2008 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate she has made of her Department's expenditure on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

David Jones: This information is not held in a way that allows the costs of such expenditure to be separated out from other office expenditure.

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

David Jones: My Department spent the following amounts on grey fleet:
	2008-09: £2,045
	2009-10: £2,174.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

Owen Paterson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 2W.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) corps and  (b) regiment had the highest (i) fatality and (ii) casualty rate in (A) Iraq and (B) Afghanistan in each year since 2001-02.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the corps and regiment which had the highest number of fatalities in Afghanistan in each financial year since 2001-02. Where multiple corps or regiments are listed they are joint equal for the highest number of fatalities in a year.
	
		
			  Financial year  Corps  Regiment 
			 2001-02 No fatalities No fatalities 
			 2002-03 Royal Logistics Corps Allied Command Europe Mobile Force Combat Service Support Battalion 
			 2003-04 Infantry Rifle Volunteers(1) 
			 2004-05 No fatalities No fatalities 
			 2005-06 Infantry Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry(1) 
			 2006-07 Royal Air Force 120 Squadron RAF 
			 2007-08 Infantry Royal Anglian Regiment 
			   Mercian Regiment(2) 
			 2008-09 Infantry Parachute Regiment 
			 2009-10 Infantry The Rifles 
		
	
	The following table shows the corps and regiment which suffered the highest number of serious injuries in Afghanistan in each financial year since 2007. Information is not available prior to 2007.
	
		
			  Financial year  Corps  Regiment 
			 2007-08 Infantry 40 Commando Royal Marines 
			 2008-09 Infantry 45 Commando Royal Marines 
			 2009-10 Infantry The Rifles 
		
	
	The following table shows the corps and regiment which had the highest number of fatalities in Iraq in each financial year since 2002-03.
	
		
			  Financial year  Corps  Regiment 
			 2002-03 3 Commando Brigade 849 Naval Air Squadron 
			   UK Landing Force Command Support Group 
			 2003-04 Infantry 156 Provost Company, RMP1(3) 
			 2004-05 Infantry The Black Watch(4) 
			 2005-06 Infantry Staffordshire Regiment(5) 
			   Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 
			 2006-07 Infantry 12 Regiment Royal Artillery Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 
			   The Rifles(6) 
			 2007-08 Infantry The Rifles 
			 2008-09 Army Air Corps 9 Regiment Army Air Corps 
			  Infantry HQ 20 Armoured Brigade 
			  Royal Engineers Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 
			 2009-10 No fatalities No fatalities 
		
	
	The following table shows the corps and regiment which suffered the most serious injuries in Iraq in each financial year since 2007. Information is not available prior to 2007.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Corps  Regiment 
			 2007-08 Infantry The Rifles 
			 2008-09 No serious injuries No serious injuries 
			 2009-10 Infantry Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 
			 (1 )Now part of The Rifles. (2) The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment became 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment during their deployment to Afghanistan in 2007. (3) 156 Provost Company RMP is an independent Provost Company. (4) Now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. (5) Now part of the Mercian Regiment. (6) The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry and the Light Infantry became part of the Rifles while deployed to Iraq in 2006-07.

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment has been made of the role of Afghan forces in protecting supply convoys to UK forces; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Supplies are delivered to UK forces in Afghanistan through a number of means, including military and contractor convoys. Following President Karzai's decree on 16 August 2010 to disband private military security companies, the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force have been working with the Government of Afghanistan on behalf of the international community to implement the decree. Work is ongoing to develop an Afghan-led solution, including for convoy protection where required, which will include the use of elements of the Afghan National Security Forces.

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2010,  Official Report, column 173W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, how many of the 84 Hellfire missiles launched from Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan since May 2008 were Hellfire AGM 114N missiles.

Andrew Robathan: I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Air Force: Military Bases

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) civilian and  (b) military staff were employed at each RAF base in the UK in each year since 2007.

Nick Harvey: The available figures for the number of civilian and military staff employed at major RAF bases in the UK in each year since 2007 is shown in the following table. To provide the answer incorporating every RAF base in the UK would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			   April 2007  April 2008  April 2009  April 2010 
			  RAF base  Military  MOD civilian  Military  MOD civilian  Military  MOD civilian  Military  MOD civilian 
			 RAF Benson 1,500 170 1,530 160 1,500 160 1,840 150 
			 RAF Brize Norton 3,420 640 3,200 620 2,680 600 2,900 610 
			 RAF College Cranwell 1,380 480 1,460 470 1,660 480 1,540 490 
			 RAF Coningsby 2,000 280 1,800 290 1,790 300 2,070 290 
			 RAF Cosford 1,040 580 1,400 540 1,740 560 2,260 610 
			 RAF Cottesmore 1,540 210 1,690 200 1,870 200 1,920 210 
			 RAF Halton 880 200 1,220 200 1,880 230 1,380 220 
			 RAF High Wycombe 1,530 570 1,560 600 1,540 600 1,610 640 
			 RAF Honington 1,070 290 1,310 290 1,670 270 1,620 280 
			 RAF Kinloss 1,540 310 1,460 310 1,420 310 1,380 310 
			 RAF Leeming 1,460 260 1,370 240 1,600 260 1,620 290 
			 RAF Leuchars 1,640 290 1,480 290 1,340 290 1,010 270 
			 RAF Linton On Ouse 280 180 270 180 280 180 290 180 
			 RAF Lossiemouth 2,080 380 1,750 370 1,720 370 1,830 370 
			 RAF Lyneham 2,390 260 2,280 250 2,250 240 2,250 240 
			 RAF Marham 2,590 360 2,520 380 2,490 370 2,570 390 
			 RAF Northolt 450 110 420 340 490 360 620 400 
			 RAF Odiham 1,840 90 1,750 90 1,710 100 1,860 110 
			 RAF Shawbury 460 120 480 120 550 110 580 120 
			 RAF Valley 350 60 340 60 360 60 380 80 
			 RAF Waddington 2,430 540 2,370 560 2,320 560 2,310 540 
			 RAF Wittering 1,650 250 1,640 240 1,570 240 1,650 240 
			  Notes: 1. The military figure includes all trained and un-trained personnel. Full time reserve personnel and mobilised reservists are excluded. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. 3. The figures represent the number of UK service and civilian personnel that are stationed at that postcode.

Aircraft Carriers

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he made of the cost to the public purse under each budget heading of the cancellation of the order for the second aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

Peter Luff: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The implications of a number of options for the carrier programme were assessed during the Strategic Defence and Security Review, including our liabilities under relevant contracts and industrial agreements such as the so-called "Yellow Book". I do not propose to release the advice provided to Ministers on these liabilities.

Armed Forces: Blood Transfusions

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has for the use of blood safety technologies in the treatment of wounded soldiers in combat zones.

Andrew Robathan: The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO, a UK independent non-departmental public body run by the Department of Health), performed a risk assessment of strategies for the reduction of risk of bacterial contamination of platelets in 2009. The committee concluded at its meeting on 27 January 2010 that pathogen inactivation (PI) of platelets should not be implemented at this particular time, due to uncertainties around patient safety, increased donor exposure and efficacy of PI platelets.
	We will continue to monitor developments in this area.
	There are currently no plans for the use of blood safety technologies in the treatment of wounded soldiers in combat zones.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many compulsory drugs tests (CDTs) were performed on Army personnel in each of the first three quarters of 2010; and how many had positive results for  (a) cocaine and  (b) ecstasy in each such quarter.

Andrew Robathan: The number of compulsory drug tests (CDTs) undertaken by the Army in each quarter since January 2010 and the positive results for cocaine and ecstasy are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Period  Number of CDTs provided  Cocaine positive  Ecstasy positive 
			 1 January-31 March 2010 20,782 55 2 
			 1 April-30 June 2010 27,140 81 0 
			 1 July-30 September 2010 19,612 63 1

Defence: Employment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has estimated the number of jobs in the UK to be supported by defence expenditure in each year to 2014-15.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence no longer compiles historical estimates of UK employment relating to equipment and non-equipment expenditure in UK industry and commerce. The last estimates, for 2007-08, were published in UK Defence Statistics in September 2009. The Department has never produced forecast estimates of UK employment.

Departmental Art Works

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what his most recent estimate is of the monetary value of the  (a) fine art,  (b) antique furniture,  (c) clocks,  (d) photographs and  (e) other categories of antiques held on his Department's estates;
	(2)  how many individual works of art and antiques owned by his Department have been valued at over £15,168.

Andrew Robathan: In line with the policy accepted by the Department for Culture Media and Sport for the Government Art Collection, no estimate is maintained for the value of artwork and antiques in the Ministry of Defence Art Collection. There would be a high cost associated with valuing the collection that outweighs the value of holding the information.

European Fighter Aircraft

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what timetable he has set for the implementation of the proposed increase in the number of Typhoon Eurofighters in operation at RAF Leuchars.

Andrew Robathan: Number 6 Squadron, operating at RAF Leuchars, is planned to receive its full complement of Typhoon aircraft by September 2011. Decisions on the future planned build-up of Typhoon squadrons at RAF Leuchars will be announced following completion of the work announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review to examine future RAF basing requirements.

Ex-servicemen: Radiation Exposure

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what data relating to nuclear test veterans the Atomic Weapons Establishment has supplied to his Department.

Andrew Robathan: The Atomic Weapons Establishment has provided over 12,000 documents to the Ministry of Defence in relation to the Atomic Veterans Group litigation and the war pensions appeals' cases. These documents cover a wide range of information relating to the nuclear tests.

France: Aircraft Carriers

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the number of days the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle was at sea in each of the last 10 years; whether he has made a comparative assessment of the number of days spent at sea by French and British aircraft carriers; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The UK and France have agreed to develop the capability to deploy a UK-French integrated carrier strike group incorporating assets owned by both countries by the early 2020s. Work to achieve this is at an early stage and will take account, among other things, of the availability of each nation's naval assets. The Ministry of Defence has not conducted a comparative assessment of the number of days spent at sea by French and British aircraft carriers.

Future Large Aircraft

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what date he expects the A400M transport aircraft to enter service with the Royal Air Force.

Peter Luff: The forecast in service date for the A400M aircraft is March 2015, as published in the Major Projects Report 2010.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the correspondence address is of each supplier of  (a) equipment,  (b) personnel,  (c) parts and  (d) assembly facilities for the Joint Strike Fighter Project in each (i) Government office region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) Parliamentary constituency.

Peter Luff: Under the terms of the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development (PFSD) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by all nine Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) partner nations in 2006, all requirements for JSF articles are co-ordinated centrally by the US Department of Defence to ensure economies of scale. This includes placing contracts with Lockheed Martin as the Prime Contractor for JSF who are required by the PFSD MOU to select sub contractors and suppliers on a best value basis. While UK industry has an exceptionally good position as suppliers to JSF, we do not routinely collect or maintain the details requested.

Military Bases

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what criteria he plans to use to determine which RAF bases will be closed as a result of the implementation of the recommendation of the Strategic Defence and Security Review;
	(2)  what  (a) other Government Departments and agencies and  (b) other organisations his Department (i) has consulted and (ii) plans to consult in relation to the closure of RAF bases in Scotland as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is now addressing the full range of issues affecting the defence estate following the Strategic Defence and Security Review. This will, in some cases, involve change of use for individual sites, and potentially some closures, but no decisions have yet been made. The work under way is aimed at delivering a long-term, cost effective solution that enables the delivery of operational capability and provides value for money for the taxpayer. We do not anticipate bringing this work to a conclusion before spring 2011. We plan to be as open as we can be and will consult with other Government Departments, the Devolved Administrations and local communities and relevant agencies as appropriate.

Military Decorations

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to consult the National Defence Medal Campaign as part of its forthcoming review of the rules governing the awarding of medals.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 2 December 2010
	I can confirm that the review of the rules governing the award of medals will report to me and that work is now under way.
	The background and arguments on the case for a National Defence Medal are well known and understood by the Ministry of Defence. Indeed we have received many representations from campaigners. Their views will be considered as part of the review.

Nimrod Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the capabilities are of the (a) Hercules C130 and  (b) Nimrod MRA4 in respect of (i) maritime radar capability and (ii) carrying sonobuoys; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The radars fitted to the Nimrod MRA4 and the Hercules C-130 aircraft have different capabilities because they were designed for different roles. The MRA4 was designed to operate a maritime surveillance radar capable of detecting, tracking and identifying surface ships and to deploy and monitor a variety of sonobuoys.
	Hercules C-130 aircraft are fitted with radar systems that provide a basic maritime search capability, in addition to weather and collision avoidance. The Hercules CI30 is not equipped to deploy or operate sonobuoys.

Nimrod Aircraft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of airborne intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance support for counter-terrorism purposes in respect of  (a) offshore oil rigs,  (b) the UK fishing fleet and  (c) wind farms of the use of (i) Nimrod MRA4 aircraft and (ii) alternative methods; what assessment he has made of the capacity to provide such support following the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 30 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 748-49W.

Rescue Services

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he has made to provide search and rescue cover for  (a) Typhoons and  (b) F-35 Joint Strike Fighters refuelling over the ocean from the new Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft following the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 450-51W, to the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth) and the hon. Members for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Mr McCann) and North Durham (Mr Jones).

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the correspondence address is of each supplier of  (a) equipment,  (b) personnel,  (c) parts and  (d) assembly facilities for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles of each (i) type, (ii) range, (iii) capital and maintenance cost and (iv) lifespan in each (A) Government office region, (B) local authority area and (C) Parliamentary constituency.

Peter Luff: I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much the Government have spent on research on a direct relationship between carbon dioxide emissions attributable to human activity and the average global temperature level in the last three years.

Gregory Barker: In the last three years (i.e. financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11), DECC and DEFRA have spent an estimated £1.8 million on researching the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions attributable to human activity and the average global temperature level. This has been done through DECC and DEFRA support to the Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme and the AVOID (Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change) Programme.

Carbon Emissions

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what financial contributions his Department plans to make to Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Gregory Barker: The UK has committed £300 million for forests for the fast start period (2010-12). This is 20% of our £1.5 billion fast start commitment.
	For the next four years (i.e. the spending review period), the UK has allocated £2.9 billion for international climate finance. This includes full funding our remaining fast start commitment. Further decisions on programming this finance will be taken next year.

Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what agreements were made on energy subsidy reform at the G20 Seoul Summit.

Gregory Barker: At the Seoul Summit, G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies which promote wasteful consumption. G20 Finance and Energy Ministers were directed to report to the 2011 Summit in France on progress in implementing country-specific strategies for reducing subsidy. The International Energy Agency, World Bank, OPEC and OECD were asked to review progress towards reducing levels of subsidy and report to the 2011 summit.

Energy Supply

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the merits of the introduction of a regular obligation on owners of private electricity and gas networks to tender energy supply through an open and competitive process; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The approach owners of private electricity and gas networks take to sourcing the electricity and gas provided to their customers is a commercial matter for the owners of those networks and will depend on the characteristics of each network. We are not seeking to introduce any obligations to regularly tender for energy supply, although EU procurement directives and regulations do impose certain obligations on public sector organisations.

Energy Supply

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on which dates officials of his Department met to consider the European Court of Justice's Citiworks ruling and the consultation on the provision of third party access to license exempt electricity and gas networks with  (a) representatives of the ports sector,  (b) other transport operators,  (c) representatives of utility providers and  (d) representatives of other commercial landlords.

Charles Hendry: Before publication of the consultation on the provision of third party access to licence exempt electricity and gas networks my officials sought meetings with stakeholders across a wide range of sectors. Meetings that took place were as follows:
	30 November 2009: Fontenergy
	1 December 2009: Thameswey Energy
	1 February 2010: Workshop attended by: Competitive Networks Association, Combined Heat and Power Association, Fontenergy, Utilicom (now Cofely District Energy), Energy Networks Association, Ramboll UK Limited, Thameswey Energy, Galliford Try, Sembcorp, National Caravans Association, London borough of Camden; Network Rail, Consumer Focus, Energy Retail Association.
	10 February 2010: Utilicom (now Cofely District Energy)
	16 February 2010: Energy Retailers' Association
	22 February 2010: Ports Authority and Bristol Port Company
	1 March 2010: British Property Federation
	10 March 2010: Airport Owners Association
	14 April 2010: British Land
	14 April 2010: More Land
	24 August 2010: GTC
	24 August 2010: Combined Heat and Power Association
	31 August 2010: Network Rail
	1 September: Fontenergy
	2 September 2010: EON
	9 September 2010: Bristol Port Company and UK Major Ports Group
	14 September 2010: Cofely District Energy
	15 September: British Property Federation
	15 September: Thameswey Energy
	26 October 2010: UKMPG, Forth Ports, ABP, Port of Belfast, Bristol Port Company, DP World, PD Teesport, Hutchinson Ports UL, Port of Tilbury.

Fossil Fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will take steps to include the issue of global fossil fuel subsidy reform in the EU position for the Cancun climate change conference.

Gregory Barker: Fossil fuel subsidies are not within the scope of the agenda of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Cancun. International fossil fuel subsidy reform has the potential to lead to significant reductions in global carbon emissions and support the UK's energy security. The UK has strongly supported the G20 initiative to rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that promote wasteful consumption and will continue to work through the G20 to seek progress on these issues.

Geothermal Power

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department plans to introduce exploration licensing legislation to facilitate geothermal heat and power projects.

Charles Hendry: The practical and legal aspects of an exploration licensing scheme covering geothermal heat and power projects are currently under examination by DECC officials.

Geothermal Power

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent request his Department has received for meetings with representatives of the deep geothermal energy industry; and what response was made.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers have received a meeting request from the Deep Geothermal Group within the Renewable Energy Association, and a meeting is planned for the new year. DECC officials also met representatives of the deep geothermal industry in October, to discuss deep geothermal power and the renewables obligation, and in September to discuss deep geothermal heat and the proposed renewable heat incentive.

Geothermal Power

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to the development of deep geothermal energy in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to remove such barriers to deployment.

Charles Hendry: We have assessed deep geothermal energy alongside other innovative renewable technologies. A particular barrier is the sector's ability to secure upfront capital support, which we have addressed through the two rounds of the Deep Geothermal Challenge Fund. The first round awarded £4 million in capital grants to three projects in financial year 2009-10, while the second round is currently under way with several bids under consideration. Another potential barrier is establishing investor confidence in ongoing returns at a commercial rate. This is provided by deep geothermal power's eligibility for 2 ROCs under the Renewables Obligation, as for other innovative renewable power technologies. Deep geothermal energy has also been considered during the development of the Renewable Heat Incentive. In addition, some in the industry have commented that the lack of a licensing regime creates a barrier to the sector's development. My officials are looking into this as set out in my answer today to my hon. Friend the Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) to question 28470.

Geothermal Power

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the requirements for support of deep geothermal power in respect of the Renewables Obligation;
	(2)  whether support for deep geothermal power will be included under the forthcoming Renewables Obligation.

Charles Hendry: Deep geothermal power is supported under the Renewables Obligation (RO) and receives 2ROCs/MWh. A banding review of Renewables Obligation support for all technologies, including deep geothermal, began in October this year. This review will consider whether any changes are needed to the banding.

Geothermal Power: Ofgem

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on deep geothermal power.

Charles Hendry: DECC has not had any recent discussions with Ofgem on deep geothermal power, which is an eligible technology under the RO. In continuing to encourage deep geothermal power the Department will raise issues with Ofgem as and when it becomes necessary.

Geothermal Power: Regulation

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has plans to introduce a regulatory regime for the development of deep geothermal power technology.

Charles Hendry: The practical and legal aspects of an exploration licensing scheme covering geothermal heat and power projects are currently under examination by DECC officials.

Natural Gas

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the potential contribution of shale gas to the UK's energy needs.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 1 December 2010
	The security of supply of gas is a top Government priority in the UK. Gas is fungible and DECC does not distinguish between types of gas consumed in the UK but instead aims to create an environment where there are incentives for investing in all viable forms of gas production. The energy security and green economy bill contains measures to strengthen the market incentive mechanism for ensuring sufficient gas is available.
	The UK is already benefiting from the technological breakthroughs in unconventional gas production methods. Recent increases in shale gas production in the United States has reduced the US's demand for imports of LNG, freeing up this LNG to be imported by other countries such as the UK and helping to put downward pressure on wholesale gas prices.
	Further increases in the global production of shale gas are expected. This may help the UK to meet its demand for gas either directly (i.e. by being consumed in the UK) or indirectly (i.e. by freeing up other gas resources for consumption by the UK).
	The British Geological Survey estimates that there could be worthwhile shale gas resources in the UK. However it is not possible to make an estimate of reserves without drilling and production testing, and it is not yet clear that the success elsewhere can be replicated in the UK.

Near Zero Emissions Coal

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) funding and  (b) other support his Department has provided to the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project.

Charles Hendry: The EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project (NZEC) has been planned as a three phase project. The UK led Phase I and provided £2.8 million to support workstreams that examined the potential for CO2 capture, transport and geological storage in China and the relative merits of a range of carbon capture and storage technologies. Phase I was delivered by 19 Chinese and nine UK partners representing academia, industry and research institutes and was completed in October 2009.Further information on can be found at:
	http://www.nzec.info/en/
	We are currently in discussion with European partners and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology over the terms of Phase IIa, which is being led by the European Commission, with the aim of enabling China to determine the type of demonstration that they would like to see and identify where that facility should be located. The UK has yet to make a financial contribution toward this phase of the project.

Radioactive Waste

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many meetings the Geological Disposal Implementation Board for Radioactive Waste has held; what the current membership is of the board; and if he will post on his Department's website a copy of each paper presented to the board.

Charles Hendry: Government are committed to geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste, coupled with safe and secure interim storage and a geological disposal facility siting process based on voluntarism and partnership.
	The Geological Disposal Implementation Board (GDIB) that I chair, was set up to provide direct ministerial oversight of the implementation programme as well as enabling stakeholders to provide input to, or to have observation of, the programme. The Board will meet two to three times per year and will provide increased visibility of the programme and make clear programme responsibilities and accountabilities.
	The first meeting of this board took place on 30 November 2010 and a high-level timeline for the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely programme was presented to members. This describes the progress to date, as well as setting out indicative timescales and milestones in implementing geological disposal. Government will keep the timeline and milestones under review and update them whenever required.
	The GDIB terms of reference and a list of attending organisations is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk
	Agendas, minutes and papers will also be published following each meeting.

Renewables Obligation: Biofuels

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to make a decision on whether to grandfather bioliquids made from waste under the Renewables Obligation; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The timing of decisions is now being considered. My officials will write shortly to the industry representatives contributing to this work to let them know the timescale.

Renewables Obligation: Biofuels

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the potential effect on the number of green jobs in the economy of any decision not to grandfather bioliquids made from waste under the Renewables Obligation.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The Government have not yet made a decision on whether to grandfather bioliquids under the Renewables Obligation (RO). In our response to the consultation on grandfathering biomass in the Renewables Obligation we committed to do further work on bioliquids derived from wastes. This work is currently being undertaken in discussion with the industry.
	12 companies have made representations to the Government that jobs in this sector are dependent on investor certainty, which is in turn dependent on grandfathering RO support rates. These representations indicate that although some projects and companies may be significantly affected, the overall impact on green jobs is likely to be small. Nevertheless the Government are keen to promote both green jobs and energy from waste and is therefore considering the issue very carefully.

Wind Power

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind turbines are in operation at each location in each local authority area.

Charles Hendry: The following table lists the number of wind turbines by region and district in England, and by county in Wales and Scotland. This is drawn from a database commissioned by DECC (which is regularly updated but may not be fully comprehensive, particularly over the last month). We do not have a breakdown according to local authority area and it would be disproportionately expensive to provide this.
	
		
			  Number 
			  Region  District/county  Wind farms  Wind turbines 
			 East midlands Boston 1 13 
			  East Lindsey 6 38 
			  Kettering 1 10 
			  South Holland 2 12 
			  South Kesteven 1 1 
			  Unspecified 4 5 
			  Total 15 79 
			 
			 Eastern Breckland 3 10 
			  Fenland 7 39 
			  Great Yarmouth 2 11 
			  Peterborough 1 3 
			  Uttlesford 1 1 
			  Waveney 2 2 
			  Unspecified 2 13 
			  Total 18 79 
			 
			 London Unspecified 2 2 
			  Total 2 5 
			 
			 North-east Castle Morpeth 1 3 
			  Derwentside 6 28 
			  Easington 2 3 
			  Hartlepool 1 3 
			  Sedgefield 1 7 
			  South Tyneside 1 1 
			  Stockton-on-Tees 2 4 
			  Wansbeck 2 16 
			  Wear Valley 1 4 
			  Unspecified 6 21 
			  Total 23 90 
			 
			 North-west Allerdale 9 66 
			  Barrow-in-Furness 1 7 
			  Blackpool 1 3 
			  Burnley 2 27 
			  Copeland 3 19 
			  Rossendale 1 26 
			  Sefton 2 10 
			  South Lakeland 3 22 
			  Unspecified 2 14 
			  Total 24 194 
			 
			 South-east Dover 1 1 
			  Milton Keynes 2 8 
			  Reading 1 1 
			  Shepway 1 26 
			  Vale of White Horse 1 5 
			  Total 6 41 
			 
			 South-west Carrick 2 30 
			  East Devon 1 1 
			  Kerrier 7 13 
			  Mendip 1 1 
			  North Cornwall 2 32 
			  North Wiltshire 1 1 
			  Restormel 1 16 
			  South Somerset 1 1 
			  Stroud 1 1 
			  Torridge 2 6 
			  Unspecified 2 4 
			  Total 21 106 
			 
			 West midlands Malvern Hills 1 1 
			  Wychavon 1 1 
			  Unspecified 1 1 
			  Total 3 3 
			 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Barnsley 1 13 
			  Calderdale 2 22 
			  Craven 2 8 
			  Doncaster 1 2 
			  East Riding of Yorkshire 5 22 
			  Harrogate 2 9 
			  Kirklees 3 5 
			  North Lincolnshire 1 8 
			  Rotherham 1 2 
			  Selby 1 12 
			  Unspecified 1 1 
			  Total 20 104 
			 
			 Scotland Aberdeenshire 17 70 
			  Clackmannanshire 1 20 
			  Dundee City 1 2 
			  East Ayrshire 2 160 
			  East Lothian 2 18 
			  East Renfrewshire 2 4 
			  Highland 17 238 
			  Midlothian 1 24 
			  Moray 4 55 
			  North Ayrshire 2 18 
			  North Lanarkshire 1 2 
			  Orkney Islands 12 27 
			  Scottish Borders 10 235 
			  Shetland Islands 1 5 
			  South Ayrshire 1 52 
			  South Lanarkshire 7 132 
			  Stirling 3 58 
			  West Lothian 1 7 
			  Unspecified 25 335 
			  Total 110 1,462 
			 
			 Wales Conwy 4 14 
			  Pembrokeshire 1 14 
			  Powys 13 277 
			  Unspecified 19 188 
			  Total 37 493

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind farms are  (a) in operation and  (b) in construction; and how many applications for wind farms are awaiting planning permission.

Charles Hendry: Currently, there are 331 operational wind farms in the UK, of which 15 are offshore. There are a further 49 under construction, of which six are offshore. 168 wind farms are currently awaiting construction, of which three are offshore. And 257 are awaiting planning permission, of which six are offshore.
	These figures are taken from the Renewable Energy Planning Database, which is available on the DECC website, and contains data on UK wind farm projects of l0 kW and above (including single turbine installations). The database is updated regularly though the figures provided may not reflect changes to project status that have occurred in the last month.

Wind Power: Research

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has allocated to research which aims to improve the efficiency of wind turbines in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much funding he plans to allocate in each of the next three years.

Charles Hendry: The Department has allocated funding to research in two areas:
	1. The Environmental Transformation Fund Offshore Wind Demonstration Call has allocated up to £27.08 million over three years (2009-12) into the demonstration of new technology for large multi-megawatt offshore turbines. (£8 million of this was from the DECC/BIS Dual Key Funding).
	2. DECC has provided up to £4.8 million over two years (2009-11) to The Carbon Trust to support the Offshore Wind Accelerator, a programme funding various cost reduction technologies.
	DECC has not decided on budget allocations in innovation for the next three year period as we need to undertake our normal business planning and Budget Committee process and that process won't be fully resolved until January/February 2011.

SCOTLAND

Alternative Vote: Scottish Parliament

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has assessed the effects of holding a joint ballot for a referendum on the alternative vote and elections to the Scottish Parliament on those  (a) with learning difficulties and  (b) for whom English is not their first language.

David Mundell: Article 90 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010 allows returning officers to provide documents in different languages, in graphical representations, or in such ways as to make them more accessible to people who might otherwise not have reasonable access to information. The Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill includes a similar provision. In addition, the Electoral Commission will be sending an information booklet to all households explaining how to vote at both the Scottish Parliament election and the referendum. The Commission are working with the Central Office of Information to ensure that the public information they provide will be accessible. As part of that process they are considering the needs of people with learning disabilities and English as a second language.

Cancer: Drugs

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Scottish Government will receive a budgetary uplift as a consequence of the allocation of £50 million by the Government to the interim cancer drugs fund.

Michael Moore: In July 2010, the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), announced that from October patients will have greater access to cancer drugs that their doctors recommend for them due to an extra £50 million in funding being made available by the Department of Health. There are no new Barnett consequentials for the Scottish budget as a consequence of this policy.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken since his appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within his responsibility.

David Mundell: Since the formation of the coalition Government, all Scotland Office expenditure, including expenditure on conferences, has been subject to the most rigorous scrutiny.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office came into existence on 1 July 1999. We do not hold centrally figures for 1999-2000. The figures for 2000-01 onwards are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2000-01 9,600.87 
			 2001-02 7,073.67 
			 2002-03 8,895.00 
			 2003-04 18,215.25 
			 2004-05 18,114.50 
			 2005-06 16,500.00 
			 2006-07 17,072.37 
			 2007-08 12,150.59 
			 2008-09 12,025 
			 2009-10 10,245

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not separately record its expenditure on printing Command Papers, papers presented to Parliament by Act, consultation documents or any other papers. However, Scotland Office's total expenditure on printing for the last 10 years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2000-01(1) 10,482 
			 2001-02(1) 12,012 
			 2002-03 13,675 
			 2003-04 8,655 
			 2004-05 14,370 
			 2005-06 8,847 
			 2006-07 41,400 
			 2007-08 17,596 
			 2008-09 15,348 
			 2009-10 20,467 
			 (1) In our earlier years, the costs of the Scotland Office were not discernable from those of the Office of the Advocate-General. Therefore, the costs shown for the first two years include the costs of both Offices.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Mundell: Between May 2010 and 12 November 2010, 88 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore). Of these, 79 (90%) were answered substantively on the day named for answer. All received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 Session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	HM Treasury conducts an annual indexation exercise of the cost of written and oral parliamentary questions so as to ensure that these average costs are increased in line with increases in underlying costs. The estimated cost of written questions that has applied from 20 January 2010 is £154.

Elections: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reasons he considers that there should be two separate electoral management boards for Scotland.

David Mundell: We do not consider that there should be two separate electoral management boards in Scotland.

Elections: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for what reasons the laying of the draft Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010 took place after the presentation of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill.

David Mundell: This Government assumed responsibility for the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010 from the previous Administration and we made every effort to lay it as soon as practicable.

Elections: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the nature of the operational relationship between the Government and Interim Electoral Management Board Scotland following its establishment as a statutory body.

David Mundell: The Interim Electoral Management Board for Scotland has not yet been established as a statutory body. Scotland Office officials attend meetings of the Board and we will continue to work closely with the Board on the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections and reserved elections.

Local Government Ballots: Scottish Parliament

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland under what circumstances he expects a combination of Scottish Parliament and local government ballots to occur.

David Mundell: Under Article 13 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010, a local government by-election which takes place on the same date as a Scottish Parliament general election must be combined. If a Scottish Parliament by-election falls on the same date as a local government election, the returning officer, or returning officers if there are different returning officers for both elections, may combine them if they think fit.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bees

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on research concerning bees in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: There are a number of funding routes for bee research in the UK and EU. Within these, DEFRA has spent the following on research concerning honey bees in each of the last three years:
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2008-09 360,000 
			 2009-10 498,000 
			 2010-11(1) 632,000 
			 (1) The figure for 2010-11 includes the £500,000 per year that DEFRA is contributing to the Insect Pollinators Initiative over the next five years which includes research on both honey and bumble bees. The Insect Pollinators Initiative is a £10 million programme established in 2009 to support research to better understand the importance of, threats to and management needs for insect pollinators in the UK. Although much of the funding is directed to honey bee research, there are some research projects on bumblebee ecology or on insect pollinators in general. 
		
	
	The amounts in the table cover a number of different projects, some of which have been completed. Final reports for the completed projects are available on the DEFRA website. Details of the projects funded under the Insect Pollinators Initiative are available on the Living with Environmental Change website.
	DEFRA and Natural England have provided additional research funding, amounting to between £6,000 and £22,000 in each of the last three years, on understanding the status and ecology of rare and declining wild bee species.

Bees

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the bee population in England was on 1 March  (a) 2000 and  (b) 2010.

James Paice: Specific data on the honey bee population on 1 March 2000 and 2010 is not available. The population varies during the year from around 20,000 per colony in the winter to 60,000 per colony in the summer. A study carried out by ADAS Consulting Ltd. in 2001 estimated that there were 230,000 managed honey bee colonies in England. No subsequent estimates have been made. However, the National Bee Unit, part of the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), has a voluntary database on which 18,878 beekeepers managing 102,172 colonies in England are currently registered.
	In addition to the honey bee, there are many species of wild bee in our countryside, a number of which have been the focus of UK conservation action. Information on the distribution and status of wild bees is available thought the websites of voluntary groups such as the Bumblebee Conservation Trust or the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society or from the Government-supported National Biodiversity Network Gateway which is an on-line database of information on the distribution of wildlife in the UK.

Dairy Farming

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with  (a) supermarket retailers and  (b) the farming industry on the sustainability of the dairy farming industry;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with  (a) supermarket retailers and  (b) the farming industry on the pricing of milk, cheese and yoghurt;
	(3)  what her policy is on changes in the  (a) level of imports and  (b) share of the domestic market of domestic suppliers of milk, cheese and yoghurt.

James Paice: On 6 July, I chaired the Dairy Supply Chain Forum which brought together representatives from throughout the supply chain and included discussions on the impacts of price volatility and the sustainability of the dairy industry.
	On 16 December, I will be chairing the next meeting of the Dairy Supply Chain Forum to discuss current issues and concerns.
	I am determined to help the UK dairy industry increase its share of the domestic milk and milk products markets accounted for by domestic suppliers.

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Richard Benyon: The Department complies with the UK and EU procurement directives and publishes requirements on websites such as CompeteFour and Supply-to-Gov in the expectation that small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations will see and respond to the procurement need.
	All procurement processes allow for the minimum of effort by the potential supplier to ensure that there are no obstacles that prevent small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations from responding.
	In line with Government policy we cannot show favour to any type of supplier in the final procurement selection processes. If the requirements could be met by a third sector organisation, the Department will include this point at the pre-procurement stage when details are published.

Environment Agency

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors she plans to take into account in determining whether the Environment Agency's navigations will transfer to the charitable body proposed to be established by April 2012 to operate the British Waterways inland waterways network; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 3 December 2010
	In considering whether or not to transfer the Environment Agency's navigations into the new waterways charity, we are taking into account: the contribution this could make to our vision of a national trust for the waterways in civil society; the views of stakeholders; operational management practicalities, and; affordability in relation to the need for the charity to have cover for future liabilities.
	We are looking at a number of different options and will consult on our proposals as part of our planned consultation on the new waterways charity early next year.

Farming Futures

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what representations she received prior to making her decision to terminate funding for Farming Futures in the next financial year; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent representations she has received on her decision to end funding for Farming Futures.

James Paice: Farming Futures is a communications project that aims to raise awareness and inform farmers of the impacts of climate change and the actions that can be adopted. Funded by DEFRA, it is a partnership of key agricultural organisations; comprising the National Farmers Union, Country Land and Business Association, Agricultural Industries Confederation, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, and Linking Environment and Farming.
	In December 2009, Farming Futures and the industry partners were informed that DEFRA could no longer provide the financial support after four years of core funding. It had always been envisaged that the funding would be time-limited, allowing Farming Futures enough time with which to seek alternative long-term financial support. Informal representations were received from project partners following the decision to end funding for Farming Futures.

Farming Futures

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish her impact assessment in respect of the rural  (a) economy and  (b) environment of her Department's decision to terminate funding for Farming Futures in the next financial year; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: Since the launch of the Farming Futures communications project in 2007, DEFRA has provided significant core funding. This contribution has allowed Farming Futures to establish themselves in playing a central role in supporting the farming industry organisations to take action on climate change. This includes raising awareness and informing farmers of the actions that can be taken to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate.
	It has always been envisaged that funding from Government would be time-limited, allowing Farming Futures enough time with which to seek alternative long-term financial support. To effect behaviour change within the sector, the farming industry organisations need to play a bigger role to ensure that key messages are delivered to farmers and that action is taken to tackle the effects of climate change. Therefore, no formal impact assessment has been undertaken.

Farming Futures

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish her Department's assessments of the value for money delivered by Farming Futures in each of the last four financial years; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: In 2007 Farming Futures was launched to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change on farming. Overall, in that year, a good network of media contacts and direct links with farmers and farming organisations was developed; achieving a £157,000 advertising value equivalent.
	Since 2008, the focus of Farming Futures expanded further to include effecting behaviour change, and information was provided (through fact sheets, case studies, workshops etc.) to enable farmers to take the necessary action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate. As part of the evaluation of the each phase of the project, a survey was undertaken to assess the level of success achieved. We will ensure that the results of these surveys are made readily available on the Farming Futures website:
	http://www.farmingfutures.org.uk

Farming: Climate Change

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding her Department plans to provide to the farming industry for the purposes of tackling climate change in each of the next four financial years; and what mechanism she plans to use to  (a) disburse and  (b) monitor the effectiveness of such funding.

James Paice: Climate change is a key priority for this Government, and as with all sectors of the economy, the agriculture sector will need to play its role in tackling greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the changing climate.
	In England, the farming industry has taken responsibility for reducing emissions from agriculture through the development of a Greenhouse Gas Action Plan, for which a Framework for Action was published in February. This approach was supported by the previous administration and this Government continue to encourage the industry to work in partnership to achieve significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions. We look forward to the publication of a delivery plan in the near future.
	The Government have made a significant investment of £12.6 million over four and half years, in partnership with the devolved Administrations, in a series of projects that aim to strengthen our collective understanding of on-farm emissions, allowing for better targeting of actions and capturing improvements made in livestock and crop management practices. We will also ensure Carbon Trust interest-free loans are available to farm businesses to invest in energy-saving equipment.
	Farmers and land managers are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change and will need to take action to adapt sustainably. The Government are looking at enhancing existing advice and guidance arrangements to support voluntary adaptation action. DEFRA also undertakes research on the impact on climate change in the farming sector; future funding will depend on the specific projects undertaken.
	We will support the sector through the development of training packages to deliver integrated advice, which will cover both mitigation and adaptation objectives.
	Funding is currently available for farmers under Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) to address challenges including climate change. For example, Environmental Stewardship provides farmers with a range of management options that are able to deliver multiple objectives, including climate change mitigation and adaption benefits. Climate change was embedded as an over-arching theme into Environmental Stewardship following the 2008 Review of Progress. An evaluation of the RDPE is currently under way and we look forward to its findings on the effectiveness of the programme which will be available early in 2011.

Flood Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which flood defence projects in each constituency are awaiting financial approval by the Environment Agency.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 24 November 2010
	All flood defence projects already under construction will be completed. It is too early to identify individual new flood defence projects that will be funded during the coming spending period. This is partly because annual budgets are still being finalised. It is also because the way in which Government funding is allocated to projects, and who decides which projects go ahead, may be changing.
	DEFRA launched a public consultation on 24 November seeking views on how capital funding should be allocated to individual projects in the future. Subject to final decisions in the spring, the new approach could apply to all projects seeking funds to begin construction from April 2012 onwards.
	The proposed approach would mark a departure from the existing system in that the Environment Agency would no longer decide the list of projects that go ahead, and which others need to be deferred as a result of annual limits in Government funding. Instead such decisions in most cases would be devolved to local authorities acting collectively as part of Regional Flood Defence Committees (to become Regional Flood and Coastal Committees under the Flood and Water Management Act). The approach also rewards public bodies and communities if they find ways of keeping project costs down, as well as if they can find additional local funding to come forward. In doing so, each community at risk could have a bigger say in which projects go ahead over time.
	Whichever means of capital allocation is adopted, DEFRA expects that improved standards of protection will be delivered to 145,000 households by March 2015.

Flood Control: Finance

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department  (a) allocated for expenditure on flood defences in each of the last five years and  (b) plans to allocate to expenditure on flood defences in each of the next five years.

Richard Benyon: The following table sets out the amounts allocated for expenditure on flood and coastal erosion risk management for the last five years, including how much is provided to the Environment Agency as grant.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Total  Funding to Environment Agency  Other expenditure, including to local authorities 
			 2010-11(1) 664 629 35 
			 2009-10 627.9 607.4 20.5 
			 2008-09 572.4 568.4 4 
			 2007-08 499.8 499.8 0 
			 2006-07 505.2 (2)497.3 7.9 
			 (1) The figures for 2010-11 are estimates of expenditure.  (2) £497.3 million for 2006-07 includes funding allocated by DEFRA which in later years was administered by the Environment Agency. 
		
	
	DEFRA expects to spend at least £2.1 billion on flooding and coastal erosion over the next four years. Annual budgets are yet to be finalised. It is not possible to speculate about funding in 2015-16 because this is outside the current spending review period.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government also provides funding to local authorities using formula grant; this is not included in these figures.

Forestry Commission: Land

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to launch the public consultation on the sale of Forestry Commission land.

James Paice: We currently anticipate that the consultation on options for different models of ownership and management arrangements for the public forest estate will begin early next year.

Timber: EC Law

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made towards the 2013 deadline for implementation of EU regulations on the importation of illegally-sourced timber; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We are implementing the Illegal Timber (Due Diligence) Regulation to meet our goal of eliminating illegal timber from the EU market; this will prohibit the import of illegally-harvested timber. When these additional implementing regulations have been finalised, a robust and proportionate domestic enforcement regime, including criminal penalties, will be put in place.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Managers: Pay

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, when the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) plans to provide a substantive answer to question 25196 on the responsibilities and salaries of members of the IPSA's senior management team.

Charles Walker: A substantive answer to the hon. Member's question was provided on 3 December 2010,  Official Report, column 1076W.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Churches: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent representations he has received on the work of the Church of England in rural parishes; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Baldry: The Commissioners have received no direct representations, however, the Church of England has a presence in almost every rural settlement and village in England and plays an important and intricate role in rural community life. The Church of England manages 9,639 buildings in rural areas which are often the only space left open for the use of the community. Clergy undertaking rural ministry are receive support from the Diocese Rural Officer and specific training for rural ministry is available through our partners at the Arthur Rank Centre and the Churches Rural Resources Centre in Warwickshire.
	In rural areas parishes are often grouped together into multi-parish benefices or team ministries which can range in number from two to five parishes to 17 to 24 in which usually an ordained minister is assisted by voluntary workers to ensure that within each parish worship and pastoral care is provided appropriately. The committed ministry of volunteers, particularly from within local congregations is essential to sustaining and extending the work of the church in rural parishes. Recently we have focused on developing the skills and gifts of rural congregation members which has allowed rural churches to explore new ways of ensuring regular worship and a high standard of pastoral care and outreach in rural communities. Stress in clergy particularly those with charge of several parishes is of great concern to the church. Clergy are encouraged to take appropriate time off and to use the services of spiritual directors. Continued training is provided throughout ministry to enable new challenges to be addressed, and specialised training is available for those in working in multi-church situations.
	The Church of England is undertaking to make its buildings available for wider extended community use, examples of projects which are currently, including as post offices, shops, libraries, internet cafes, benefit advice centres and citizens advice centres. Wherever possible, we want to see churches as living buildings where as much community activity as possible takes place, and the Church Commissioners will always support such activity. At the recent 'Faith in the Future of the Countryside' conference members of the Church of England discussed the Government's latest plans for the 'Big Society', development and housing in the countryside and the future of the government forests with several of our ecumenical partners. The conference urged the Church to engage with sustainable communities in its work on the 'Big Society' ensuring the safeguarding of ecological, cultural, economic and spiritual benefits which are already evident in the work of the Church in local communities.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what material relating to the passage of the  (a) Abortion Bill [ Lords] 1965-66 Session,  (b) Abortion Bill [ Lords] 1966-67 Session,  (c) Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill 1966-67 Session and  (d) Abortion (No. 2) Bill 1966-67 Session is stored in the Parliamentary Archives; and if he will make a statement.

John Thurso: Details of records held by the Parliamentary Archives can be found by searching its online catalogue, Portcullis at:
	www.portcullis.parliament.uk
	A list of records relating to the above Bills will be deposited in the Library of the House. The records themselves can be ordered to, and consulted in, the Archives' public search room on the second floor of the House of Lords.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much the House of Commons service spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

John Thurso: Payments by the House of Commons service for press cuttings services have been as follows.
	 Media and Communications Service:
	For coverage of the work of select committees and the House in general.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 8,502 
			 2008-09 22,028 
			 2009-10 63,649 
			 2010-11 (to date) 48,281 
		
	
	 Select Committees:
	Some committees purchase a service with a wider remit to inform them of developments in their subject areas.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 27,289 
			 2008-09 25,646 
			 2009-10 16,457 
			 2010-11 (to date) 8,301 
		
	
	Detailed financial records from which this information can be derived are not kept for earlier periods.
	A reduction in this expenditure of £35,000 a year has been proposed by the Management Board as a contribution to the savings target set by the commission.

Parliamentary Archives: Publications

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what material offered to the Parliamentary Archives was rejected in each of the last 11 years; what the reason for rejection was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

John Thurso: The acquisition of records-both internal and external-by the Parliamentary Archives is governed by its "Collection & Acquisition Policy", available from its public searchroom and on the parliamentary website at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/archivesacquisitionpolicy09.pdf
	The disposal of the internal records of the administrations of both Houses is governed by its records management procedures, specifically the "Authorised Records Disposal Practice" (ARDP), available on the parliamentary intranet at:
	http://intranet.parliament.uk/research-online/records-archives/records-management/ardp/
	Destruction of records no longer of business or historical value takes place within individual offices as a matter of routine, based on the instructions in the above schedules. Records immediately identifiable as of historic value are automatically transferred to the Archives in accordance with the ARDP. Where it is not clear whether a business record has historic value or not, that record is "appraised" by the Archives, a procedure which has been used since 2004 when the ARDP was introduced.
	The numbers of files selected or rejected by the Parliamentary Archives following appraisal is in the following table:
	
		
			   Files selected  Files not selected 
			 2004 69 155 
			 2005 865 657 
			 2006 142 353 
			 2007 190 189 
			 2008 19 17 
			 2009 151 56 
			 2010 (Provisional figures) 97 112 
		
	
	Appraisal decisions are based on a number of factors, including the record's provenance and content; authenticity and reliability; order and completeness; condition and costs to preserve it; and its intrinsic value (where appropriate). Reasons for rejection include: information already published; duplicate information held elsewhere; is of a routine administrative nature that does not add value or understanding to other related records; or does not fit with the collecting themes in the "Collection & Acquisition Policy". It would incur disproportionate cost to collate and publish all information related to these appraisal decisions. However, the relevant files containing these decisions can be made available for consultation in the Archives' searchroom on request.
	A record is not kept of speculative offers received from external sources but not pursued, which are few in number. Details are only kept of the acquisition of an external record or collection once a decision to acquire has been made; a decision based on the criteria set out in the "Collection & Acquisition Policy".

Portcullis House

Joan Walley: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent risk assessment has been undertaken in respect of the tiled floors in bathroom and shower wet room facilities in Portcullis House; and if he will make a statement.

John Thurso: There is no record of a formal risk assessment having been undertaken in respect of the bathrooms and shower room facilities in Portcullis House. However, it is understood that staff reviewed the operation of these spaces shortly after the building opened and noted that there was a risk of users with wet, bare feet slipping on the floor. Bath mats are therefore provided.

Portcullis House: Fire Escapes

Joan Walley: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent risk assessment has been undertaken of fire safety procedures in Portcullis House in respect of signposting to stairways; and if he will make a statement.

John Thurso: Following the introduction of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 a fire risk assessment of Portcullis House was carried out in 2006. This assessment deals, among other things, with signposting. A periodic review of the fire risk assessment has been carried out each year since 2006. A further periodic review is due to be carried out during December 2010.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Alternative Vote: Referendums

Tom Greatrex: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the ballot papers for the (a) proposed referendum on the alternative vote and  (b) elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2010 have been tested for acceptability to voters by the Electoral Commission.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission has informed me that the designs for the ballot papers for the proposed referendum on the voting system for UK parliamentary elections and the Scottish Parliament elections are prescribed in legislation introduced by the UK Government.
	The Commission has not undertaken user-testing of the design of the ballot paper for the proposed referendum, although it undertook extensive user-testing research on the wording of the question that will appear on the ballot paper as part of its assessment of the question to be asked at the referendum.
	The Commission has further informed me that it has not undertaken user-testing on the design of ballot papers for the Scottish Parliament elections, although it has made recommendations to the Scotland Office that it should undertake user-testing of the proposed designs in line with the Commission's "Making your mark" guidance.

Alternative Vote: Referendums

Tom Greatrex: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the compliance with its guidelines of the ballot papers for the  (a) referendum on the alternative vote and  (b) elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2010 in respect of those with visual impairments.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission has informed me that it published design guidance ('Making your mark') for policy-makers aimed at improving the usability and accessibility of voter materials, including ballot papers, in October 2009. The "Making your mark" guidance is aimed at addressing a wide range of voters' needs, including the needs of voters with visual impairments, and was developed with input from accessibility and disability awareness groups including the RNIB.
	The Commission highlighted in its briefing for parliamentarians at second reading of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill its concern that the prescribed forms for voters, including the ballot paper for the proposed referendum on changing the voting system for UK parliamentary elections, had not been designed in accordance with the "Making your mark" guidance. The Bill has since been amended to allow the Chief Counting Officer to specify changes to certain forms to improve the accessibility of the voting process, but this would not extend to the design of the ballot paper.
	The Commission has further informed me that it recommended, in response to the UK Government's consultation on the draft Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010, that the design of the ballot paper should be revised in line with its "Making your mark" guidance and user-tested to ensure it could be easily understood by the electorate.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Agriculture

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in African states on the commitment to spend 10 per cent. of GDP on agriculture made at Maputo in 2003.

Stephen O'Brien: The Secretary of State and I routinely discuss factors affecting economic growth and food security whenever we meet our African counterparts. UK Government officials also participate in twice yearly meetings of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme. We use these meetings, and our country level work, to review the programme with the African Union and member states, and urge progress towards the Maputo productivity and expenditure targets.

Agriculture: Research

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had on replenishment of funding for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK is a founding member and among the top four donors of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). In 2009-10 the Department for International Development (DFID) contributed about 8% of the total CGIAR budget and has been leading a change process that is bringing about far reaching reform of the organisation.
	DFID has held discussions with a range of external stakeholders, including UK-resident CGIAR Centre Board Chairs and Members, bilateral donors, the European Commission (EC), the European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD), National Research and Extension Systems (NARES), the Global Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR), the World Bank (WB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), on how best to harmonise funding for greater research focus on priority issues of climate change, poverty, food security and nutrition.
	The reformed CGIAR has established a global trust fund governed by a Fund Council, on which DFID has a seat. The Council will make funding allocations to priority research programmes proposed by the Consortium of CGIAR Centres. From this financial year onwards DFID's contribution will go directly to the CGIAR Fund rather than to specific Centres and programmes as has been the case in the past.

Agriculture: Research

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support  (a) agricultural research and  (b) extension needs in respect of the very poorest and most marginalised smallholder farmers in the developing world.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) focuses its agricultural research on priority issues related to agriculture and natural resource management for poor people and smallholders.
	The current agriculture research portfolio is built around four main components; providing core support to international research to deliver high quality and effective international public goods to tackle poverty reduction and achieve sustainable growth; getting the outcomes of research into widespread use, through national research and extension systems (NARES), NGOs, the private sector and other partnerships; investing in regional research programmes based in Africa and South Asia; and working in partnerships to take forward advanced research in order to address major research objectives of relevance to poor people, such as climate change, new pests and diseases. This involves targeting and harnessing scientific excellence, and linking this to global partners.

Agriculture: Research

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had on the role of UK institutions and non-governmental organisations in meeting the need for research tailored to the needs of the most marginal smallholder farmers.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has recently discussed and agreed a new programme of research with the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). This programme aims to develop crop varieties which are drought and disease resistant, as well as new production methods relevant to smallholders in Sub-Saharan African and South Asia.
	DFID has also engaged in promoting the potential role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in scaling up vitamin enriched crops in Africa. This process has included discussions on the role of NGOs in working with smallholders to select new crop varieties relevant to their needs, and the widespread dissemination of a new vaccine for East Coast Fever in East Africa.
	At the 2010 Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD), officials also discussed the research and extension priorities of smallholders and marginalised farmers in developing countries with a wide range of stakeholders. A roadmap was developed that lays out priority actions to improve the participation of marginal smallholder farmers in research and extension work.

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken since his appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within his responsibility.

Alan Duncan: In accordance with the cross-government freeze on marketing and advertising spend, all conferences paid for by the Department for International Development (DFID) are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This process assesses the business case for the conference, the value for money and potential cost saving opportunities for each conference we fund.

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts, in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) currently advertises all contracts over the value of £101,000, a threshold set by the EU, on the European Journal website as well as on the DFID website. Suppliers are chosen on the basis of a competitive bidding process. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Third Sector organisations can access these opportunities by expressing their interest in these adverts.
	In order to improve access to DFID contracts for all suppliers, DFID is in the process of launching a supplier portal. The portal will allow suppliers to register their company information (including whether they are an SME or Third Sector organisation), view opportunities that DFID is currently tendering and receive automated alerts of competitions in their markets of interest. We plan to launch this new facility, which will be available free of charge, in early 2011. Further information and updates can be found on the procurement pages of DFID's website:
	www.dfid.gov.uk

Departmental Manpower

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how many of his Department's staff at each grade  (a) in the UK and  (b) at each overseas office are working on agriculture programmes;
	(2)  how many staff at each grade based  (a) in the UK and  (b) at each overseas office have agricultural training;
	(3)  how many of his Department's staff at each grade based  (a) in the UK and  (b) at each overseas office have agricultural experience.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development supports numerous and diverse programmes addressing food security or agricultural development, involving many staff from a range of professional backgrounds. To determine the extent of agricultural related training and experience among all these staff would incur disproportionate cost.
	However, I can confirm DFID has two Senior Civil Service positions and a group of professional livelihoods advisers (currently 57) who are required to have specific expertise and experience in agricultural or rural development, food security, agricultural adaptation to climate change and related livelihoods issues. They must have a minimum of five years relevant experience and a higher degree in a relevant subject. The number of livelihoods staff employed at each civil service grade and their location are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number  of livelihoods advisers  DFID grade (Traditional Civil Service grade)  Location 
			 2 Senior Civil Service UK 2 
			 22 A1 (G6) UK 11 
			   Overseas 7 
			   EC/UN 4 
			 
			 34 A2 (G7) UK 10 
			   Overseas 23 
			   EC 1 
			 1 A2L (SEO) Overseas 1

Departmental Manpower

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many agricultural staff his Department plans to recruit at each grade in the next 12 months; and in which country each will be based.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK Government have committed to spend £1.1 billion on food security and agricultural development between 2009-10 and December 2012, through a combination of support for agricultural research, bilateral programmes and multilateral contributions. The number and deployment of staff resources required to deliver this commitment, including any recruitment needs, will be determined by the outcome of the ongoing reviews of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) bilateral, multilateral, policy and research programmes. Recruitment is also subject to the current freeze and guidelines on external recruitment to the civil service.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

Alan Duncan: The requested information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. For details of expenditure in the last 12 months for which figures are available, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 23 November 2010,  Official Report, column 227W.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will take steps to encourage multilateral development banks to provide further support for investment and lending for the purposes of adaptation to climate change.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is working closely with all the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to ensure a clear results framework for all their activities, including climate adaptation, and to help the MDBs to build their understanding of, and capacity to deliver, good adaptation projects and outcomes. Recent replenishment negotiations between DFID and the MDBs will help to provide resources to further climate-related investment and lending to the poorest countries, including for adaptation. Further details of funding committed to the MDBs will be available on the conclusion of the Multilateral Aid Review.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to answer of 25 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 389-90W, on developing countries: health services, by what means his Department plans to support the World Health Organisation to help countries implement the recommendations of the World Health Report.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) has agreed to provide technical assistance to support the World Health Organisation (WHO) in implementing the World Health Report. The technical assistance will be in the form of a senior health economist seconded by DFID for two years. DFID is also evaluating proposals to provide additional financial resources.
	These resources will be used to provide direct assistance to developing countries wishing to implement pro-poor health financing reforms. WHO is anticipating a large increase in demand for this type of assistance following the recent publication of the World Health Report, and has approached DFID for this support due to our well-proven and valued track record of providing assistance in this area.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) financial,  (b) advisory and  (c) training assistance his Department provides to foreign countries to support the provision of health care free at the point of use through each (i) project and (ii) funding stream; what plans he has to evaluate the outputs and outcomes of that work; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently providing considerable support to a number of developing countries to enable them to provide some health services free at the point of delivery. These countries currently include Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Nepal. The type of support depends on the circumstances of the country concerned and may include budget support (Ghana, Uganda and Malawi), contributions to pooled funds (Liberia), project funding (Sierra Leone and Burundi) and technical assistance (all of these countries).
	DFID is monitoring the impact of these reforms by tracking levels of key service outputs, such as outpatient attendances and the number of babies delivered in health centres. We are also assessing the extent to which changes in these outputs are contributing to improved health outcomes for poor and vulnerable people.
	DFID is currently reviewing all its aid programmes, including our support to the health sector, to ensure UK aid is effective, accelerates progress towards the millennium development goals and represents value for money. Details of DFID's future support to the health sector in our partner countries will be available on the conclusion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews early next year.

Developing Countries: Politics and Government

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what consideration he has given to the merits of using a proportion of development aid to improve institutional governance of  (a) tax authorities and  (b) other authorities in developing countries.

Stephen O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) recognises the importance of better governance for poverty reduction and long-term development. We are strongly committed to building effective public authorities, particularly in conflict affected and fragile countries where capacity is often weak. This includes supporting citizens to demand more transparent and accountable government and improved service delivery.
	Effective tax systems are at the heart of DFID's priorities to promote wealth creation, to build public accountability, and to enable the eventual "exit strategy from aid". Work in this area has delivered real and measurable results, generating significant additional resources for frontline basic services such as schools and primary healthcare. For example, DFID assistance to the Tanzania Revenue Authority helped increase the tax take from 12% of GDP in 2006 to 14.5% by 2007-08. In Uganda our support also contributed to additional revenue of £80 million over the period 2005-09.

Overseas Aid

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which 10 non-governmental organisations received the highest levels of funding from his Department in the latest period for which figures are available; what restrictions were placed on the use of such funds in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen O'Brien: The 10 non-governmental organisations (NGO) that received the highest levels of funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) in financial year 2009-10 are as follows.
	
		
			  NGO  Total (£000) 
			 British Red Cross 39,611 
			 VSO 34,124 
			 International Rescue Committee UK (IRC) 26,400 
			 Save The Children 25,551 
			 OXFAM 23,646 
			 Christian Aid 17,043 
			 CARE International UK 12,005 
			 International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) 7,426 
			 Overseas Development Institute 7,324 
			 BBC World Service Trust 7,315 
		
	
	These NGOs have received this support through a variety of different DFID funding mechanisms. Details of the conditions attached to all funding to this group cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. However, further details of all DFID projects, including those delivered by NGOs, can be found on the project database on DFID's website.
	Each of DFID's funding channels for NGOs has different criteria and a specific application process. However once funding has been agreed there are a number of conditions that DFID applies to all NGOs. For example, they are required to provide quarterly financial reports, a copy of their annual audited accounts and annual reports detailing progress made against agreed objectives. Funds can only be used to support activities and objectives agreed with DFID. All NGOs are also required to produce a project evaluation and project completion reports.
	The UK Government are introducing a new Aid Transparency Guarantee, which commits us to making our aid fully transparent to citizens in both the UK and developing countries, increasing accessibility and feedback, and pushing our international partners to follow our lead. Under this guarantee, DFID will publish full and detailed information on all funded projects and programmes on the DFID website-in a standardised, accessible format so that this information can be freely used by third parties.

Philippines: Overseas Aid

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which non-governmental organisations based in the UK receive financial support from his Department for activities in the Philippines; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: Through our centrally-funded civil society programme, the Department for International Development (DFID) currently supports Anti-Slavery International's work in the Philippines to prevent child labour and to protect, release and rehabilitate child workers and children at risk.

Philippines: Overseas Aid

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department allocated to the Philippines in each category in each year since 2000; and how much aid in each category it plans to allocate in 2011.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no plans to allocate bilateral aid to the Philippines in 2011. In recent years the Philippines has received aid from DFID in response to humanitarian emergencies; from centrally funded projects by UK civil society organisations; to finalise projects dating from the 1990s under the Aid and Trade Provision; and through the Heads of Mission Small Projects Scheme.
	Details of DFID's bilateral aid spending in the Philippines can be found in the annual publication Statistics on International Development, which is available on the DFID website and in the Library of the House. Figures for 2000-01 to 2009-10 are reproduced in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Funding type  2000 - 01  2001 - 02  2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004 - 05  2005 - 06  2006- 10  2007 - 08  2008 - 09  2009 - 10 
			 Humanitarian assistance 250 50 - - 309 91 300 - - 2,271 
			 Multilateral organisation - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Not for profit organisation 206 79 199 119 147 163 181 299 13 - 
			 Other bilateral aid 340 149 122 263 198 37 - - - - 
			 Other financial aid 241 3,855 789 1,606 945 1,883 143 12 -5 -2 
			 Procurement of goods and services - 14 67 55 22 10 - 11 12 9 
			 Total 1,037 4,147 1,177 2,043 1,621 2,185 624 321 20 2,278

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Equality

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Afghanistan on the implementation of provisions on the recognition of equal treatment of men and women in the Afghan Constitution.

Alistair Burt: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said to the House on 27 October,
	"It is right to draw attention to the role of women in Afghan society and the importance of continuing to build it up in the future."
	Our embassy officials in Kabul continue to press the Afghan Government to implement its national and international human rights commitments, including on the equal treatment of women and men.
	We continue to provide support to the Afghan Government's Human Rights Support Unit, which opened on 29 September 2010, and to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. These two institutions play a key role in ensuring that the human rights of all Afghans are promoted and protected.

Burma: Prisoners

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the imprisonment of Min Ko Naing in Burma.

Jeremy Browne: The immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience in Burma remains one of the international community's long-standing demands. The UK was instrumental in ensuring that Min Ko Naing and other high profile political prisoners were specifically mentioned in the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Burma in March this year and the UN General Assembly 3rd Committee resolution on the human rights situation in Burma in November.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed the issue of over 2,200 people still imprisoned for their political beliefs in Burma most recently with the Thai Foreign Minister on 29 November. My hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) also raised our concern with EU Foreign Ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 22 November.
	The Government will continue to press for the release of Min Ko Naing and all other prisoners of conscience in Burma.

Departmental Written Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of questions to his Department tabled in the  (a) House of Commons and  (b) House of Lords that remained unanswered after 10 working days as a result of observation of guidance on the timing of answers to similar questions tabled to more than one Department in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: In the House of Commons, 28 questions out of a total of 789 tabled for ordinary written answer in this session up to 12 November 2010 took longer than 10 sitting days to answer and were also tabled to more than one Department. The reasons for the delay in answering will have varied for each question.
	In the House of Lords, no questions tabled for written answer in this session up to 12 November 2010 took longer than 10 sitting days to answer and were also tabled to more than one Department.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will review his decision not to publish the entries in the Government wine cellar database to take into account the determination of the Information Commissioner on the application of commercial confidentiality criteria to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, reference FS50277632.

Alistair Burt: I can confirm that in light of the determination of the Information Commissioner, I will be reviewing the decision not to publish some details of the Government wine cellar's database.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from which wine  (a) merchants and  (b) producers his Department has purchased wine since his appointment.

Henry Bellingham: holding answer 29 November 2010
	Between 14 May and 23 November 2010, Government Hospitality purchased wines by the following merchants: Lea & Sandeman; John Armit Wines Ltd; Waitrose; Lay & Wheeler; Haynes Hanson & Clark; Jereboams; Berry Bros & Rudd; O. W. Loeb & Co. Ltd and Averys. It was sourced by the merchants from producers in the following countries: France, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests his Department has received since his appointment to publish a copy of the entries in the Government wine cellar database.

Henry Bellingham: holding answer 29 November 2010
	One, which was from the hon. Member.

Kashmir

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the government of Pakistan and  (b) the government of India on the future of Kashmir.

Alistair Burt: Officials in our high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi regularly discuss India-Pakistan relations, including Kashmir, with the Governments of Pakistan and India. However the long standing position of the UK is that it is for Pakistan and India to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to mediate in finding one. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in the Foreign Affairs debate on 27 May and during his visit to Pakistan in June.

Kashmir

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of  (a) the political situation in Kashmir and  (b) prospects for the future of Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Officials in our high commissions in New Delhi and Islamabad closely monitor the situation in Indian and Pakistan administered Kashmir. They regularly discuss the situation with the Governments of India and Pakistan and make clear our hope that they can make progress on the issue. We welcome the efforts that both sides are making towards constructive dialogue. However the long standing position of the UK is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, one which takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
	It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to mediate in finding one. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary reiterated this in the Foreign Affairs debate on 27 May and during his visit to Pakistan in June.
	We continue to call for an improvement in the human rights situation on both sides of the Line of Control and for an end to external support for violence in Kashmir. UK funding supports human rights, conflict prevention and peace building efforts on both sides of the Line of Control.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the acquisition of anti-aircraft missiles by Hamas; what discussions he has had with the Government of Israel on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK regularly discusses the issue of arms smuggling with the Israeli Government. The details of these discussions are confidential. However, the UK continues to call for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1860, including halting the smuggling of weapons to armed groups in Gaza and the need to ease the restrictions on Gaza's crossing points.

Morocco

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what dates each Minister in his Department has  (a) visited Morocco and  (b) had a meeting to discuss issues related to Morocco since 1997.

Alistair Burt: I visited Morocco between 30 November and 2 December 2010.
	Previous visits by Foreign and Commonwealth Ministers since 1997 include:
	the hon. Member for Bury South (Mr Lewis), November 2009
	Dr Kim Howells (former Member for Pontypridd) April 2008, June 2006 and July 2005
	The right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Straw), February 2006
	The right hon. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, January 2005, May 2004 and September 2003
	The right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr MacShane), December 2004
	Mike O'Brien, (former Member for North Warwickshire) February 2004
	As Minister with responsibility for our relations with Morocco, I have regular meetings to discuss the country. I am sure this was the case with previous Governments.

North Korea

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects on international peace and stability of the recent actions of the government of North Korea.

Jeremy Browne: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary strongly condemned North Korea for its unprovoked attack on Yeonpyeong Island on 23 November, which has raised tensions and threatened security on the Korean Peninsula. Recent reports that North Korea has been developing a uranium enrichment facility are also deeply concerning. This is in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and poses a threat to the region.

Philippines: Homicide

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the Government of the Philippines on the killings at Maguindanao in the Southern Philippines on 23 November 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: Both our ambassador in Manila and the EU presidency made statements strongly condemning the killings in Maguindanao on 23 November 2009, and conveying condolences to the families of the victims. We also called for urgent action to bring the perpetrators to justice.
	Our ambassador to the Philippines met the chair of the Philippines Commission for Human Rights to discuss the situation and make our position clear.

UN Resolutions: Capital Punishment

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he made at UN level on the decision of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly to delete the reference to sexual orientation from its resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on the decision of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly to delete the reference to sexual orientation from the resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Jeremy Browne: The Government were very disappointed that the reference to sexual orientation was removed from the UN General Assembly resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Prior to the vote on this amendment, we made a statement objecting to the deletion of this reference:
	"To accept this amendment would be to accept that this particularly vulnerable group of people do not deserve specific mention, perhaps even to suggest that they do not warrant the same protection from killings. To us this suggestion is an affront to equality and respect for human dignity."
	We voted against the amendment.
	We are currently discussing the outcome of the resolution with like-minded countries. While we remain disappointed that the explicit mention of sexual orientation has been removed from language on "killings committed for any discriminatory reason", we interpret the broad language which replaced it to include these types of killings, and will support the text as a whole in the plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly on that basis.
	The Government continue to oppose violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in all circumstances. We will continue to work bilaterally and through international organisations, including the UN, to promote and protect the rights of LGBT people.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had at the United Nations on the deployment of human rights monitors to Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: The Government support the idea of greater transparency and independent verification of the human rights situation in Western Sahara. Discussions regarding human rights monitoring in Western Sahara need to explore all options and identify which organisation is best placed to deliver that function.
	We remain in close touch with a range of partners on the question of human rights in Western Sahara, including at the United Nations.

Zimbabwe: Press Freedom

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the safety of journalists in Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: Despite the substantial reduction in violence since the formation of the Inclusive Government, we continue to be concerned about politically-inspired human rights abuses perpetrated against journalists, as well as political and civil society activists. All forms of intimidation, harassment and arbitrary arrests are unacceptable. We advise British journalists intending to carry out any reporting or official photography in Zimbabwe to ensure that they have applied for the proper accreditation.
	We remain concerned that the Zimbabwean parliament has not yet repealed repressive legislation and there has been little progress on judicial reform or establishing the rule of law. We continue to monitor the situation on the ground and urge all sides of government to observe the spirit as well as the letter of the Global Political Agreement full. We call regularly, both bilaterally and with EU member states, for an end to all such abuses and the restoration of internationally accepted human rights standards in Zimbabwe.

EDUCATION

Classroom Assistants: Manpower

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many classroom assistants he expects to be employed in schools in each of the next five years.

Nick Gibb: The numbers of teachers and classroom assistants that schools employ in future years will, as now, be a matter for them to decide, according to local needs and subject to statutory requirements that infant class sizes will not exceed 30 pupils.

Departmental Food

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has guidelines on ensuring that food used for his Department's official functions is of domestic origin.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education has no formal guidelines on ensuring that food for official department functions is of domestic origin. This does not preclude the Department specifying to the supplier that, where practicable and within departmental spend guidelines, they should use food that is locally produced and sourced.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has to provide financial support to young people to encourage them to continue their education past the age of 16.

Nick Gibb: As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) announced on 20 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 949-65, we are replacing the education maintenance allowance (EMA) scheme, from September 2011, with an enhanced discretionary learner support fund. We have taken this decision because the evidence suggests that around 90% of the young people who receive EMA would still have participated in education if the scheme were not available.
	Replacing EMA with an enhanced discretionary fund will mean that decisions about support will be made on the basis of a local assessment of the personal circumstances of individual students, enabling closer targeting of resource to individual young people who face a real financial barrier to participation.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what rights of appeal will be given to  (a) students and  (b) their parents whose applications for financial help under the Government's plans to replace the education maintenance allowance are refused.

Nick Gibb: We will replace the education maintenance allowance with an enhanced discretionary learner support fund, so that schools, colleges and training organisations can more effectively target support to those individual students that they assess as in most need.
	We will consult with schools and colleges before finalising arrangements for the new scheme, including any routes of appeal. Under current arrangements for discretionary learner support funding it is for the school, college or training organisation to set out their procedures for students to appeal.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what meetings he has had with head teachers to discuss his plans to replace the education maintenance allowance; and who was present at each such meeting.

Nick Gibb: The Government took the decision to end the education maintenance allowance (EMA) on the basis of evaluation and other research evidence which indicates that the scheme does not effectively target those young people who need financial support to enable them to participate in education and training. In finalising the enhanced discretionary learner support scheme that will replace EMA the Department will consult with schools, colleges and training organisations.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he intends to produce guidance for head teachers and college principals on the criteria which should be used to allocate the money they receive under the Government's plans to replace the education maintenance allowance.

Nick Gibb: The enhanced fund will build on the current discretionary learner support funds, which many schools, colleges and training organisations already use very effectively. They are better placed than Government to target support to individual students who have most need of it to continue in education.
	The Department intends to consult with schools, colleges and training providers about the arrangements for the enhanced discretionary learner support fund, including any guidance that may be provided.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of removing education maintenance allowance on disadvantaged young people in Birmingham.

Nick Gibb: We are committed to making sure that every young person remains in education or training until they are 18. Where young people need extra support to realise their potential we will ensure that services are in place to support the most vulnerable.
	In reaching the decision to end Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) we have looked closely at evaluation evidence and other research, which indicates that the scheme does not effectively target those young people who need financial support to enable them to participate in education. The evidence suggests that around 90% of the young people who receive EMA would still have participated in education if the scheme were not available.
	From 2011/12, EMA will be replaced by an enhanced learner support fund that will be administered by schools and colleges themselves, targeting those young people who face a real financial barrier to participation.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Erith

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in Erith and Thamesmead constituency claimed education maintenance allowance in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in  Hansard and the House Libraries.

Free School Meals

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he made of the number of pupils in each constituency who were eligible to receive free school meals in year 11 who went on to  (a) sixth form college,  (b) a further education college,  (c) employment-based training,  (d) full-time employment,  (e) part-time employment,  (f) part-time education or training and ( g) economic inactivity in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he made of the number of pupils in each constituency who were eligible to receive free school meals in year 11 who  (a) went on to study A-levels,  (b) undertook an apprenticeship and  (c) participated in other forms of education or training in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The information requested, providing estimates of the activities of young people who had been in receipt of free school meals (FSM) in year 11, by local authority, for each year between 2004/05 and 2008/09 has been placed in the House Libraries. The information is based on what they were doing at academic age 16, normally the first year after completing compulsory education. The source of these estimates is the Young People's Matched Administrative Dataset (YPMAD). The YPMAD cannot be used to produce robust estimates of participation at constituency level, so local authority figures are provided. This source cannot provide information on either employment or economic status.

Free School Meals

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many pupils eligible for free school meals were entered for GCSEs in  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) biology and  (d) three separate sciences in each local authority in 2009;
	(2)  how many pupils eligible for free school meals were entered for a modern language GCSE in each local authority in 2009.

Nick Gibb: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

New Schools Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what responsibilities he has assigned to  (a) the free schools group in his Department and  (b) the New Schools Network in respect of free schools.

Nick Gibb: The Free Schools Group (FRG), situated within the Infrastructure and Funding Directorate of the Department, is responsible for all aspects of free schools policy and implementation. The FRG is, for example, working with groups wishing to join the first wave of free schools. Informed by its work with these early groups, supporting them through the process, the FRG is developing policy for future free schools. The FRG is also working with those groups that have started the business case and plan stage and will support them through the process, up to and including the opening of the new school.
	The New Schools Network is an independent charitable organisation that is funded by the Department to offer support to individuals and groups interested in setting up a new school.

New Schools Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice he received from officials in his Department on the New Schools Network prior to awarding it a grant to administer advice on free schools.

Nick Gibb: My right hon. Friend received a range of advice from officials in respect of the awarding of a grant to New Schools Network, including finance, procurement and legal advice.

Schools: Admissions

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information local authorities are required to provide to his Department on the number of children resident in their areas who do not have school places.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 25 November 2010
	The Department does not collect information on the number of children in a local authority that have not been allocated a school place. It is the responsibility of each local authority to manage the supply and demand for primary and secondary school places in its area and to secure a place for every child of statutory school age who wants one.

Schools: North Yorkshire

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many complaints he has received on the consultation process relating to the schools reviews being undertaken by North Yorkshire county council.

Nick Gibb: Decisions on school reorganisations are taken under the statutory local decision-making process. Consultation forms the first part of this process, and any responses or complaints about the consultation being carried out should be directed to the LA which is running the consultation and which will decide whether to move to the publication of proposals, and not the Secretary of State. I can however confirm that to date seven pieces of correspondence have been received by the Department about the consultation which North Yorkshire county council has conducted.

Teachers: Further Education

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to allow further education lecturers to teach in maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: Schools may already employ suitably skilled and experienced staff with a further education background as instructors, provided that no suitable qualified or trainee teacher is available to the school to fill the post.

Teachers: Manpower

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers he expects to be employed by schools in each of the next five years.

Nick Gibb: The numbers of teachers and classroom assistants that schools employ in future years will, as now, be a matter for them to decide, according to local needs and subject to statutory requirements that infant class sizes will not exceed 30 pupils.

Teachers: Pay

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the freeze on public sector salaries applies to progress on pay spines for teachers.

Nick Gibb: There are no changes planned to the pay progression provisions within the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document as a result of the Government's announcement in the emergency Budget of a two-year freeze to public sector pay.
	Teachers have benefitted from a three-year pay deal which has seen increases of 2.45%, 2.3% and 2.3% with the last increase being paid from September 2010. The pay freeze will take effect from September 2011 for teachers but will not alter provisions for progression through the pay scales.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission: Marketing

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what types of gift products the Audit Commission purchased from  (a) the Purple Company (UK) and  (b) Giftpoint in each of the last three financial years; and at what cost to the public purse.

Bob Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend direct.
	 Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 6 December 2010:
	Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
	The Audit Commission has purchased a small number of products from the Purple Company in the last three financial years:
	
		
			£ 
			 11 May 2010 66 x Tombo Teamwear Sports T-shirts @ £11.70 each(1) 772.20 
			 22 May 2010 6 x Tombo Teamwear Sports T-shirts @ £11.70 each(1) 70.20 
			 (1) Reimbursed by staff. 
		
	
	Our office premises in Bristol houses a gym for use by staff. This is a member-supported club where an annual fee is charged for use of the gym and for any equipment purchased, including sports wear. The T-shirts purchased were paid for by members (staff) out of their annual membership fees. There is a nil cost to the Audit Commission.
	Additionally there were 1000 Post-It notes and 50 T-shirts purchased as support material supplied at our National Managers' Conference in November 2008. It was used on the Human Resources and Audit stands.
	
		
			£ 
			 29 October 2008 1,000 x Post-It Notes + 50 T-shirts 990.00 
		
	
	The Audit Commission has purchased three gift products from Giftpoint in the last three financial years:
	
		
			£ 
			 21 January 2009 250 cotton shopper bags 290.00 
			 21 January 2009 Ball pens 3,567.25 
			 19 March 2009 250 cotton shopper bags 290.00 
		
	
	Cotton shopper bags (2 invoices totalling £580) were purchased for distribution at our events for Governors and Directors/Senior Management of Foundation Trusts and Mental Health Trusts. The ball pens were a promotional item at these and other events at which we exhibit.

Audit Commission: Pensions

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to announce his proposals for the future of the Audit Commission's pension scheme.

Bob Neill: My Department is working with the Audit Commission and other partners to consider a range of options for the future of local audit following the disbandment of the Commission. This includes discussing options for the Commission's pension scheme with its Chair of Trustees and Commission colleagues, and we intend to make an announcement as soon as practicable.

Care Homes: Pets

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he is taking steps to ensure that residential homes give adequate consideration to granting requests from residents to take their pets into homes.

Paul Burstow: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government appreciate that pets and companion animals can be a source of great comfort to their owners. We would certainly encourage residential care providers to give careful consideration to granting requests from residents to take their pets into care homes.
	However, there are no plans to issue directions to residential care providers. This is a complex matter; there are many, sometimes competing issues to consider. For example, care home premises may not necessarily be suitable for the keeping of pets, or certain kinds of pet. The wishes of all residents must be taken into account; some may not wish to share their environment with animals. Residents who are frail or in poor health may not be able to care for their pets properly, however much they might wish to.
	The Government consider that the only practically workable approach is to allow care providers the freedom to decide, in the light of individual local circumstances, whether or not to permit residents to keep pets.

Departmental Postal Services

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value was of contracts between his Department and its predecessors and  (a) Post Office Ltd and  (b) Royal Mail in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) each year since 2004-05.

Bob Neill: The Department no longer hold details of the monetary value of contracts that may have been held with Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail in 1997-98.
	Since 2004-05 the following amounts have been paid to Royal Mail in relation to
	postage:
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2004-05 901,275 
			 2005-06 5,572 
			 2006-07 297,524 
			 2007-08 14,342 
			 2008-09 9,175 
			 2009-10 4,855 
			 2010 (to October) 1,929 
		
	
	No payments have been made to Post Office Ltd.
	It has been the Department's practice to ask its facilities management provider to sub-contract all postal services. Expenditure with Royal Mail is largely for transactional postal cost in outlying DCLG stations that do not have access to the facilities management arrangements. However in 2004-05 and 2006-07 the following amounts were paid to Royal Mail to support large projects:
	
		
			  Financial year  £ 
			 2004-05 893,696 
			 2006-07 284,068 
		
	
	This breaks down as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Project  £ 
			 2004-05 Elected Regional Assemblies 377,062 
			  Mailing on Fire Safety 180,000 
			  Elected Regional Assembly Door Drop Leaflet. 169,736 
			  Elected Regional Assemblies 117,098 
			  Regional Assemblies (NE Durham House Mailer) 29,353 
			  Mailing on Fire Safety 20,447 
			  Total 893,696 
			
			 2006-07 Fire and Rescue Service Postal Survey. 178,830 
			  Fire and Rescue Service Postal Survey. 105,238 
			  Total 284,068

Departmental Public Appointments

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department issues internal guidance on the communication of decisions regarding appointments or reappointments of board members to public bodies.

Bob Neill: Decisions about ministerial appointments and reappointments to the boards of public bodies are taken in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice, which sets out requirements for communicating those decisions. There is no separate internal guidance issued on the communication of decisions regarding appointments or reappointments of board members to public bodies.

Departmental Public Appointments

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of his Department's compliance with the code of practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in respect of ministerial appointments to public bodies in relation to the decision not to reappoint Ms Jenny Watson to the Audit Commission.

Bob Neill: Decisions about reappointments to the Board of the Audit Commission were taken in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice.

English Regions Network: Finance

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will cease all funding to the English Regions Network; and how much the Network received from his Department and its predecessors in each year since its inception.

Bob Neill: The Department no longer provides funds to the English regions network. The following table sets the grants provided to the English regions network since it was established. The English regions network was the umbrella organisation for the regional assemblies.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 1,000,000 
			 2002-03 200,000 
			 2003-04 200,000 
			 2004-05 200,000 
			 2005-06 200,000 
			 2006-07 240,000 
			 2007-08 229,000 
			 2008-09 58,790 
			 2009-10 60,000

EU Grants and Loans: North East

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to align the proposed Regional Growth Fund with the North East England 2007-2013 European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme.

Bob Neill: I can confirm that we intend to align the regional growth fund with the European regional development fund, as stated in the Local Growth White Paper "Local Growth: realising every place's potential", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	My officials are currently holding discussions with colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with a view to facilitating this. Organisations in the north-east can apply for support from both funds, where the aims of their bids are eligible for support from both funds.

EU Grants and Loans: North East

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what risk assessment his Department has undertaken of the potential effects of the abolition of One North East on the delivery of the North East England 2007-2013 European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness Programme; and what steps he has taken to mitigate any risks identified.

Bob Neill: We are currently considering the future arrangements for running European regional development fund programmes in England, after the abolition of the regional development agencies. As part of this consideration, we have carried out a detailed assessment of the implications of the change to new delivery arrangements and the mitigating measures needed to ensure that the programmes continue to be run in compliance with the EC regulations. We will make an announcement when the decision has been reached.

Fire Services

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effect on fire services of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review.

Bob Neill: An equality impact assessment will be published in due course. I also refer the hon. Member to my letter to fire authorities on the spending review, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Fire Services: Greater London

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 50W, on fire services: Greater London, for what reasons he has had no discussions with the Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on the deployment of the 27 engines used to provide emergency fire cover during the recent strike.

Bob Neill: No discussions on this matter were requested and none were sought. All operational decisions on the deployment of assets, including fire engines, are the responsibility of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, and not central Government.

Fire Services: Pay

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of firefighters who will be affected by the public sector pay freeze.

Bob Neill: Decisions about firefighter pay are for fire and rescue authorities. However, we would expect all local authorities to exercise pay restraint in keeping with the central Government public sector pay freeze announced in the emergency Budget.

Homelessness: North West

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have been recorded as homeless in  (a) Cumbria,  (b) the North West and  (c) each parliamentary constituency in Cumbria since 1979.

Grant Shapps: Summary tables giving the number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by each local authority and rough sleeper counts and estimates as far back as each series is available have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Information about local authorities' discharge of their duties under homelessness legislation is collected on quarterly PIE returns. Summary information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library of the House and via the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
	Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available and this information is also collected. Information on acceptances and number of households in temporary accommodation at local authority level is available from 1997-98 onwards.
	Information is also collected on rough sleeping. Since 1998, only councils in areas with a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem were required to conduct an official rough sleeper count-which meant that only 70 councils submitted information to central Government. Figures published in July 2010 showed that under this previous method, on any given night there were 440 rough sleepers in England. However, when the remaining 256 councils provided estimates of the scale of the problem in their areas, this added a further estimated 807 rough sleepers-taking the national total to 1,247 rough sleepers on any given night.
	Under new guidance all councils across England will now provide information on rough sleeping. This move follows consultation with homelessness charities and councils and is aimed at getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area so more targeted support can be provided to some of the most vulnerable in society.
	Rough sleeping figures are published by the Department on the DCLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/roughsleepingcount2010
	The Department does not collect data on homelessness at parliamentary constituency level.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress he has made on the creation of local enterprise partnerships.

Bob Neill: On 28 October, the Government published their Local Growth White Paper, which set out their approach to achieving local economic growth by shifting power to local levels and helping to create the right conditions for growth and recovery. This included announcing the first 24 local enterprise partnerships which would proceed. These partnerships are now in the process of establishing their boards and local governance structures in line with local requirements.
	Government will work with the relevant local authority and business partners in other parts of the country where no local enterprise partnership has been announced, in order to ensure future proposals allow all areas to progress, where civic leaders and business community wish to do this. I have asked my officials to engage directly with these local partners. Government will welcome revised proposals from these places and make further announcements as they become ready.

Local Government Finance

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether he has sought the advice of the District Auditor on the appropriateness of the use by local authorities of cash reserves;
	(2)  if he will ensure that in circumstances in which local authorities reduce the level of funds held in reserve for contingencies his Department provides funding to match any shortfall arising from the realisation of the financial risks against which reserves had previously been earmarked.

Bob Neill: The use of a local authority's reserves is for each council to determine.
	The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles) said in a press notice on 30 November that it is sensible, as part of wider financial planning, for council treasurers to consider drawing on their reserves to address short term costs and pressures, such as necessary restructuring, and to invest now in order to realise savings in the longer term.

Local Government Finance: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will ensure that Liverpool city council receives a smaller percentage reduction in its grant income than more affluent local authorities.

Bob Neill: We will announce our proposals for the local government finance settlement for 2011-12 in the usual manner in due course.

Non-domestic Rates

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was collected by each local authority in England in national non-domestic rates in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how much was received by each local authority in Revenue Support Grant in each of those years; and what the net income was for each local authority from these transactions.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House tables for 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 that give details of (a) how much was received by each local authority in England in redistributed national non-domestic rates, Revenue Support Grant and other grants including Police Grant and (b) how much was contributed to the national non-domestic rates pool by each local authority in England.
	Details of the net income for each local authority from these transactions has not been included as it is not a meaningful figure. National non-domestic rates are collected by 326 authorities and paid into a central pool before being redistributed to 421 authorities.

Second Homes

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of dwellings in each local authority area were registered as second homes for council tax purposes in each year since 1997.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House, a table containing details of the number and proportion of dwellings in each local authority area in England that were registered as second homes for council tax purposes since 2004. Information for previous years is not available.
	The data are from a snapshot taken each year and are as recorded by each local authority in the council tax base returns submitted annually to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Reliable estimates before 2004 are not available because there was no particular incentive for local authorities to distinguish between second homes and long-term empty homes on their council tax base forms. However, from April 2004, local authorities have had the discretion to set the council tax discount on properties considered to be second homes at between 50% and 10%.

Supporting People Programme

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there is any variation in the mechanism by which the level of the Supporting People grant is calculated by local authorities in different regions of England, including data in respect of additional needs.

Andrew Stunell: The Supporting People Programme grant has previously been allocated to top tier local authorities using the Supporting People Distribution Formula which takes account of population, level of deprivations, people at risk and other relevant needs data.

TRANSPORT

Accident Investigation

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the functions carried out by his Department's  (a) Air Accident Investigation Branch,  (b) Rail Accident Investigation Branch and  (c) Marine Accident Investigation Branch of reductions to his Department's central administration budget; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: The accident investigation branches (AIBs) do not form part of the Department's central administration budget as they are categorised as Programme expenditure.
	We have however, carried out an assessment of potential productivity improvements in the AIBs which could be made without impacting their statutory functions. Our assessment shows that cost reductions can be made by focusing their activities more closely on their core safety role and through rationalising support functions and other efficiency improvements. This will include sharing facilities and equipment across the three AIB's wherever this is practical.

Airports: Security

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for the introduction of his proposed new regulatory system for passenger security checks at airports.

Philip Hammond: There is no finalised timetable for the introduction of a new regulatory system for passenger security checks at airports. The issuing of timing will be addressed in the forthcoming consultation.

Airports: Security

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with whom his Department plans to consult on his proposals for a new regulatory system for passenger security at airports; and if he will place in the Library  (a) a copy of the consultation document and  (b) a list of all consultees.

Philip Hammond: The Department for Transport plans to consult widely with all stakeholders in accordance with the Government Code of Practice on Consultation. A copy of the consultation document including a list of all consultees will be placed in the Library when the consultation paper is published.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid Interfleet (i) £106,817.12 on 13 May 2010 and (ii) £108,379.16 on 20 July 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Interfleet is contracted by the Department for Transport to provide specialist technical advice for the procurement of new trains required for the Thameslink Programme.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the legal advice for which his Department paid Freshfields £148,773.21 on 9 September 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Freshfields is contracted by the Department for Transport to provide specialist legal advice for the procurement of new trains required for the Thameslink Programme.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the legal advice for which his Department paid CMS Cameron  (a) £269,116.77 on 31 August 2010,  (b) £98,150.98 on 27 September 2010 and  (c) £166,610.73 on 28 September 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The legal fees paid to CMS Cameron McKenna were in relation to advice provided by them on: the restructuring of the UK, French and Belgian interests in Eurostar into a standalone company on 1 September 2010; and on the sale of HS1 and associated properties and lease arrangements that was announced on 5 November 2010.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid the Nichols Group £145,593.02 on 18 May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The majority of the payment to Nichols Group dated 18 May 2010 was for specialist consultancy services in respect of programme management, and commercial and franchise negotiations required as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The IEP Programme was started by the previous Administration, and sought to replace Britain's fleet of high speed trains, originally deployed by British Rail in the 1970s and 1980s.
	In addition, £22,980.80 of the payment was made in respect of management consultancy on the Strategic Roads Investment Programme and £18,485.69 on the Pendolino Lengthening Programme.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid Jacobs Engineering (a) £149,911.38 on 21 June 2010, (b) £135,940.96 on 15 July 2010, (c) £112,538.46 on 2 August 2010 and (d) £114,159.35 on 3 September 2010.

Theresa Villiers: Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd is engaged jointly by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) to carry out a 'project representative' function for the Crossrail project, in which the Government are directly investing £4.7 billion. Half of the costs paid by DfT are subsequently recovered from TfL.
	The project representative provides technical advice and assurance on all aspects of the delivery of the Crossrail project to both DfT and TfL. It is made up of a small team of specialists with expertise in many areas of large construction programmes including design, construction, procurement, commercial, risk management and value engineering as well as specific competencies related to the scheme, including civil engineering, tunnelling, rolling stock, signalling, railway systems, and railway operations.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid Mott MacDonald (a) £142,963.63 on 26 May 2010 and (b) £187,567.16 on 27 May 2010.

Theresa Villiers: The payments to Mott MacDonald on the above dates were for specialist advice and consultancy services in respect of the commercial and franchise negotiations required as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) during the last two financial periods of the 2009-10 financial year.
	The IEP programme was started by the previous Administration and sought to replace Britain's fleet of high speed trains, originally deployed by British Rail in the 1970's and 1980's.

Departmental Consultants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) purpose and  (b) nature was of the management consultancy for which his Department paid PricewaterhouseCoopers (a) £162,040.95 on 20 May 2010 and (b) £102,590.87 on 16 June 2010.

Theresa Villiers: PricewaterhouseCoopers is contracted by the Department for Transport to provide specialist financial advice for the procurement of new trains required for the Thameslink Programme.

Departmental Grants

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what grants have been awarded by his Department in 2010-11 to date; what grants he plans to award in each of then next two years; what the monetary value is of each such grant; and to which organisations such grants are made;
	(2)  how much funding his Department has allocated in grants for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; and how much such funding he plans to allocate for 2011-12.

Norman Baker: holding answer 30 November 2010
	The Department for Transport allocated £9.1 billion to grants in 2009-10, and estimates that it will allocate £8.4 billion to grants in 2010-11.
	Year to date grant payments for 2010-11 are included in the data available on the Department for Transport's website, which details monthly spend as part of the Government's transparency agenda. This can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/procurement/contracts/spending
	Grant expenditure can be identified from the 'expense type' category.
	Detailed information relating to grant allocations for 2011-12 and 2012-13 is not currently available, but announcements have been made about high level grant budgets for the spending review period. These can be found in the Department for Transport's press notice of 20 October 2010, at:
	http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx? Clientld=202&NewsAreald=2&ReleaselD=416118&Subiectld=36

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible spent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months.

Norman Baker: The cost of press cuttings services to the Department for the 12 months from October 2009 to September 2010 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  (a) Cost of press cuttings services to the Department for Transport 
			  £ 
			   DFT Central  Driving Standards Agency  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency  Highways Agency 
			  2009 
			 October 14,806.77 352.43 Nil 3,140.57 
			 November 12,662.02 340.85 220.45 6,082.86 
			 December 14,631.88 385.38 230.25 4,935.48 
			  
			  2010 
			 January 14,574.21 352.89 673.60 6,133.48 
			 February 12,538.01 412.28 205.75 3,894.38 
			 March 14,620.17 652.46 144.50 3,754.39 
			 April 13,990.25 471.66 161.65 2,233.25 
			 May 11,824.49 438.89 Nil 2,032.17 
			 June 9,246.44 406.01 Nil 1,776.34 
			 July 10,197.06 527.96 Nil 3,848.82 
			 August 9,000.15 557.35 Nil 4,202.87 
			 September 9,240.35 778.29 Nil 1,616.89 
		
	
	The remaining executive agencies-the Government Car and Despatch Agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Vehicle Certification Agency, and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency-have not procured press cuttings services in the 12 months from October 2009 to September 2010.
	 (b) Cost of press cuttings services to the Department for Transport's non-departmental public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Security

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether security functions carried out for his Department by TRANSEC will be affected by reductions to his Department's central administration budget; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: TRANSEC does not form part of the Department's central administration budget as it is funded out of Programme expenditure.
	During the spending review we carried out a thorough reassessment of the most cost-effective way of providing transport security in the future. This will result in internal efficiencies and other changes which will produce cost savings while maintaining essential security functions.

Departmental Sponsorship

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what expenditure  (a) his Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: I am afraid that the information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. A marketing and communications freeze was introduced in May 2010.

Dover Harbour Board

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East of 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 34W, whether the proposal from Dover People's Port to buy the assets of the Dover Harbour Board is also under consideration; and upon what basis his decision will be made.

Michael Penning: holding answer 29 November 2010
	The Decision Minister, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Villiers), is currently considering the proposed transfer scheme from Dover Harbour Board, as well as the representations received from third parties. The Decision Minister will make her decision having regard to the factors contained in the Department's guidance note on the procedure for the voluntary sale of trust ports, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
	I have written to the Dover People's Port Trust Limited to explain that, until there has been a decision on the transfer scheme, it would be premature for any offers for the Port of Dover to be considered.

Dover Harbour Board

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what legal advice he has received from his Department on whether primary legislation is required before any sale of the assets of the Dover Harbour Board may proceed; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 29 November 2010
	The Government do not normally disclose their legal advice.
	The Ports Act 1991 was used in the 1990s to achieve a transfer in ownership of several major trust ports.
	The Act remains in force. The Department for Transport produced guidance earlier this year as to how it expects applications made under that Act by relevant harbour authorities to be brought forward and processed. A copy of the guidance is in the Library of the House.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) material,  (b) administrative and  (c) postage costs the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency incurred in issuing tax discs in the latest year for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The latest figures for the cost of issuing tax discs this year (2010-11) are.
	
		
			   £ 
			 Material 5,037,493 
			 Administrative 48,457,495 
			 Postage 13,746,012

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what posts exist in the tax disc section of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; and what salary is payable to holders of each such post.

Michael Penning: Around 45 million tax discs are issued annually, raising £5.6 billion in vehicle excise duty for the Exchequer. Tax discs are sold through three channels. Post offices account for 57% of applications; the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's electronic vehicle licensing internet and telephone system accounts for around 41% of applications. The remaining 2% of tax disc applications are handled by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's local offices.
	As well as staff employed in the local office network and supporting the electronic vehicle licensing system, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency also employs staff who are involved in the procurement, despatch and the refund of tax discs. None of these staff work solely on the issuing of tax discs. These staff are mainly at the administrative grades. DVLA's administrative pay structure is:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Pay band  Minimum  Target 
			  National   
			 Pay band 1 14,000 15,200 
			 Pay band 2 16,735 18,000 
			
			  London   
			 Pay band 1 17,486 18,895 
			 Pay band 2 20,730 21,655

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Local Government

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities have been  (a) banned and  (b) suspended from accessing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: holding answer 12 November 2010
	No local authority has been banned from accessing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's vehicle database within the last 12 months. The following authorities have been temporarily suspended during the last 12 months from requesting information from the database until they could demonstrate full compliance with the strict terms and conditions for access to data.
	Ashfield District Council
	Aylesbury Vale District Council
	Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
	Bedford Borough Council
	Birmingham City Council
	Blackpool Borough Council
	Blaenau Gwent Borough Council
	Bournemouth Borough Council
	Bracknell Forest Council
	Breckland Council
	Bristol City Council
	Broadlands District Council
	Bromley L B
	Buckingham County Council
	Burnley Borough Council
	Cambridge City Council
	Cannock Chase Council
	Carlisle City Council
	Carmarthen Council
	Carmarthenshire County Council
	Central Bedfordshire Council
	Chiltern District Council
	Chorley Borough Council
	City of York
	Cornwall Council
	Croydon Council
	Cumbria County Council
	Dacorum Borough Council
	Dudley Council
	Durham County Council
	Ealing Council
	East Dorset District Council
	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
	Erewash Borough Council
	Fenland District Council
	Forest Heath District Council
	Gloucester City Council
	Guildford Borough Council
	Hampshire Council (East)
	Hampshire County Council
	Hartlepool
	Hastings Council
	Hereford Council
	Ipswich Borough Council
	Kent County Council
	Kirklees District Council
	Leicester City Council
	Lewes Council
	London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
	London Borough Epping Forrest
	London Borough Newham
	Manchester City Council
	Mendip District Council
	Middlesbrough
	Milton Keynes Council
	N E Lincolnshire
	New Forest District Council
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	North Kesteven District Council
	Northumberland
	Oldham Council
	Pendle Borough Council
	Poole Council
	Portsmouth City Council
	Ribble Borough Council (South)
	Ribble Valley Borough Council
	Richmond on Thames
	Salford County Council
	Selby District Council
	Shropshire Council
	Somerset County Council
	South Cambridgeshire Council
	South Lakeland
	Southampton Council
	Southend on Sea Borough Council
	St Albans City and District Council
	St Helens Council
	Stockton on Tees
	Stroud District Council
	Surrey Heath Borough Council
	Three Rivers District Council
	Warrington Borough Council
	Warwick District Council
	Watford Borough Council
	Wigan MBC
	Wiltshire Council
	Worcester County Council
	Wychavon District Council
	Wycombe District Council

Driving Tests

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of time learner drivers have to wait to take a driving test.

Michael Penning: Waiting times across the country are currently higher than expected. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has a shortfall in the number of driving examiners required to deliver the demand for practical driving tests and this is being addressed through a programme of recruitment.
	In addition, to help mitigate the impact of the current examiner shortfall, DSA has undertaken a number of actions to increase the number of tests it can deliver. These include:
	(1) Offering out-of-hours tests (early mornings, evenings and weekends) at most locations;
	(2) Having examiner managers do an increased amount of testing.

Driving: Eyesight

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to raise awareness among drivers  (a) of the risks inherent in driving with poor vision and  (b) that driving with vision below the required standard is an offence; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport takes appropriate opportunities to raise awareness of the risks inherent in driving with poor vision.
	Driving licence application forms and associated leaflets remind drivers about the ongoing requirement to be able to meet the eyesight standard. Specific information is available on the DirectGov website. Advertisements also appear on the motoring pages reminding drivers that driving while unable to meet the appropriate eyesight standard is an offence. This advice is also included in the Highway Code that provides essential advice for all drivers. The driving test also requires candidates to demonstrate their ability to meet the required eyesight standard.

Ferries: Fuels

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the extent of the use of alternative fuels in the river ferry sector.

Michael Penning: The Government have not made an assessment of the extent to which alternative fuels are in use in the river ferry sector. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has some knowledge of the application of alternative fuels in connection with its role as regulator. Currently this information is limited to a very small number of vessels that could be considered to be experimental.
	We know that compressed natural gas is being used on ferries in Canada and the Norwegian Government have introduced a number of programmes for their fleet of coastal and fjord vehicle ferries, after the successful experience with the prototype GLUTRA.
	Liquid biofuels are now being used by a number of river ferry operators. These are diluted into fuel at low concentrations and reduce the demand for fossil fuels. These types of fuel will be increasingly adopted for use on inland waterway vessels in Europe in the future.

Freight Facilities Grant

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to the Freight Facilities Grant in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The value of the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awards made by the Department in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			   Total value of awards( 1)  (£ million) 
			 2005-06(2) 0.9 
			 2006-07(2) 3.2 
			 2007-08 1.2 
			 2008-09 1.8 
			 2009-10 1.5 
			 (1) Figures do not include awards made which were later declined, expired or were withdrawn. (2) Includes awards made by the Department and the Strategic Rail Authority.

Freight Facilities Grant

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on the future of the Freight Facilities Grant.

Michael Penning: No formal announcement on the future of the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) scheme has yet been made by the Department for Transport. Following the spending review settlement, we are currently considering what budgets will be available across a number of the Department's smaller programmes (including FFG).

Freight Facilities Grant

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the Freight Facilities Grant scheme.

Michael Penning: The organisation 'Freight on Rail' made a representation to me on Freight Facilitates Grants in May.

Great Western Railway: Electrification

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to make an announcement on the proposed electrification of the Great Western line to South Wales.

Theresa Villiers: In his ministerial statement of 25 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 52-54WS, the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), confirmed that the Great Western main line between London and Didcot, Oxford and Newbury would be electrified. The extent of further electrification for intercity services on the Great Western main line is dependent on final decisions on the intercity train option that we choose.
	My right hon. Friend also announced that the Department for Transport would be working with the Welsh Assembly Government to review the business case for electrification to Swansea.

Local Transport Plans

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to estimate the effect on levels of walking and cycling in respect of his Department's objectives of the implementation of the second round of local transport plans (LTPs); and what methodology he plans to use to evaluate the effectiveness of LTP3 delivery.

Norman Baker: The coalition Government have set out their commitment to localism and to ending the top-down performance management of local authorities by Whitehall. In July I announced that central Government will no longer review local authorities' progress against their Local Transport plans.
	In the interests of transparency, and to enable local communities and other stakeholders to hold local transport authorities to account, the Department intends to continue publishing relevant statistics at local authority level as set out in the Transparency section of its Business Plan.
	The Department of Health is also developing an outcomes framework for directors of public health to monitor the health and well-being of the local population, and a consultation document on appropriate indicators will be announced shortly.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people his Department employs as part of the Motor Insurance Database's Continuous Insurance Enforcement Project Team.

Michael Penning: holding answer 29 November 2010
	The Department for Transport currently employs in the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency seven full-time equivalents in the Continuous Insurance Enforcement Project Team.

Railways: Fares

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to align the timing of off-peak travel periods between different train operating companies.

Theresa Villiers: There are no plans at present to harmonise the definition of 'off-peak' for all train operators.
	The Franchise Agreement allows individual train operators the flexibility to define what is 'off-peak' according to local conditions. We do not consider it appropriate to require all train operators to have the same off-peak periods as this could lead to many passengers being subject to restrictions at times when it was not necessary.

Railways: Standards

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which 20 rail routes are with the highest levels of congestion.

Theresa Villiers: Information on rail overcrowding is currently published annually in aggregate form by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) within the National Rail Trends Yearbook, and is available on the ORR website:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk
	The latest published data relate to passenger counts carried out by train operators in autumn 2009.

Rescue Services: Helicopters

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the evidential basis was for his Department's conclusion that the changes proposed to the resourcing of the search and rescue helicopter programme could be accommodated without initiating a new procurement process;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of fully funding a de-militarised search and rescue helicopter programme from his Department's departmental expenditure limit; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Government announced in June 2010 that the search and rescue helicopter project would be reviewed in the context of wider pressures on public spending. That review is still ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment on any specific aspects of the project until decisions have been made on the way forward.

Roads: Accidents

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the Government are making on developing road safety measures to reduce the frequency of minor accidents.

Michael Penning: Existing policies and trends have already delivered the safest roads in the world, with significant falls in all casualties, as well as deaths and the most serious injuries. The Department for Transport is making progress on initiatives to continue to reduce the frequency of both major and minor accidents, including work on a new strategic framework for road safety and related measures.
	Most recently we have produced the "Safe Place to Cross" toolkit aimed at six to eleven-year-olds and the innovative partnership between the THINK! team and four major football clubs.
	We have also announced in September the Local Sustainable Transport Fund that will challenge local transport authorities outside London to develop packages of measures that support economic growth and reduce carbon in their communities as well as delivering cleaner environments, improved safety and increased levels of physical activity.

Roads: Accidents

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) fatalities,  (b) serious injuries and  (c) other outcomes from road traffic accidents in (i) Cumbria and (ii) England were reported to his Department in each month of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The following table shows the number of casualties who were  (a) killed,  (b) seriously injured or  (c) slightly injured in reported personal injury road accidents in (i) Cumbria and (ii) England, in each month, between 2005 and 2009.
	
		
			  Casualties in reported personal injury road accidents, by injury severity and month: Cumbria and England, 2005 - 09 
			  Casualties 
			England  Cumbria 
			  Year  Month  Killed  Serious  Slight  Total  Killed  Serious  Slight  Total 
			 2005 January 224 1,891 17,415 19,530 2 24 179 205 
			  February 199 1,767 15,406 17,372 3 45 168 216 
			  March 221 1,834 15,987 18,042 5 20 146 171 
			  April 185 1,927 16,924 19,036 5 31 164 200 
			  May 214 2,232 18,167 20,613 2 29 207 238 
			  June 225 2,223 17,925 20,373 1 41 233 275 
			  July 218 2,285 18,260 20,763 10 29 186 225 
			  August 230 2,244 17,559 20,033 1 36 205 242 
			  September 247 2,096 17,687 20,030 0 33 183 216 
			  October 244 2,307 18,690 21,241 7 32 224 263 
			  November 259 2,300 19,938 22,497 4 33 214 251 
			  December 269 2,104 18,581 20,954 5 29 194 228 
			  Total 2,735 25,210 212,539 240,484 45 382 2,303 2,730 
			   
			 2006 January 200 1,945 15,892 18,037 3 13 160 176 
			  February 223 1,755 14,791 16,769 4 9 150 163 
			  March 173 1,826 15,783 17,782 3 27 159 189 
			  April 213 1,851 14,926 16,990 3 23 144 170 
			  May 198 2,097 17,096 19,391 3 21 156 180 
			  June 232 2,278 16,578 19,088 10 27 181 218 
			  July 223 2,337 17,843 20,403 7 29 203 239 
			  August 240 2,056 16,505 18,801 9 34 180 223 
			  September 243 2,126 17,742 20,111 6 30 194 230 
			  October 264 2,172 18,228 20,664 2 20 187 209 
			  November 229 2,269 18,358 20,856 2 34 226 262 
			  December 257 2,144 17,284 19,685 7 18 196 221 
			  Total 2,695 24,856 201,026 228,577 59 285 2,136 2,480 
			   
			 2007 January 209 2,040 16,213 18,462 2 32 171 205 
			  February 168 1,634 13,988 15,790 1 21 147 169 
			  March 205 1,934 15,919 18,058 4 33 169 206 
			  April 219 2,061 14,718 16,998 10 46 199 255 
			  May 218 1,975 16,937 19,130 1 15 169 185 
			  June 184 2,084 16,568 18,836 3 21 164 188 
			  July 202 2,186 17,015 19,403 5 15 163 183 
			  August 226 2,122 15,991 18,339 8 18 212 238 
			  September 220 2,106 16,097 18,423 3 20 167 190 
			  October 218 2,062 16,328 18,608 3 20 200 223 
			  November 220 2,159 17,323 19,702 4 19 186 209 
			  December 213 1,855 15,647 17,715 1 14 152 167 
			  Total 2,502 24,218 192,744 219,464 45 274 2,099 2,418 
			   
			 2008 January 192 1,784 14,734 16,710 4 18 143 165 
			  February 162 1,840 14,935 16,937 0 15 131 146 
			  March 158 1,705 14,243 16,106 2 17 166 185 
			  April 158 1,722 14,349 16,229 8 24 149 181 
			  May 183 1,930 15,084 17,197 3 22 182 207 
			  June 159 1,977 14,823 16,959 1 23 150 174 
			  July 209 1,920 15,415 17,544 2 29 152 183 
			  August 170 1,838 14,246 16,254 1 26 160 187 
			  September 156 1,994 15,091 17,241 2 14 204 220 
			  October 217 1,984 16,441 18,642 2 14 150 166 
			  November 179 1,804 15,602 17,585 3 17 176 196 
			  December 180 1,748 14,825 16,753 1 28 148 177 
			  Total 2,123 22,246 179,788 204,157 29 247 1,911 2,187 
			   
			 2009 January 175 1,708 14,232 16,115 1 15 155 171 
			  February 142 1,350 11,488 12,980 2 15 107 124 
			  March 137 1,685 13,856 15,678 0 17 110 127 
			  April 174 1,787 13,464 15,425 1 18 135 154 
			  May 166 1,907 14,618 16,691 7 15 151 173 
			  June 154 1,916 14,471 16,541 2 26 146 174 
			  July 160 1,818 15,367 17,345 2 16 166 184 
			  August 183 1,792 14,319 16,294 2 27 174 203 
			  September 152 1,962 14,262 16,376 2 29 156 187 
			  October 157 1,968 15,954 18,079 1 24 158 183 
			  November 140 1,856 16,684 18,680 2 12 156 170 
			  December 140 1,577 14,859 16,576 1 10 168 179 
			  Total 1,880 21,326 173,574 196,780 23 224 1,782 2,029

Roads: Snow and Ice

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the Highways Agency's Salt Stock Strategy document.

Michael Penning: The Highways Agency's policy and standards for its winter service, including salt stock management, is detailed in its largely technical Network Management Manual (NMM). The relevant winter section, along with the full document, is available at the following website:
	http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/nmm_rwsc/docs/nmm_part_5.pdf
	The Highways Agency constantly reviews and revises the NMM to confirm changes in standards to its contractors and to reflect lessons learned and developing best practice on all aspects of its maintenance activities. I understand that the Highways Agency will be updating the document highlighted by the previous link very shortly.

Speed Limits: Rural Areas

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to take steps to (a) amend the way in which speed limits for rural roads are set and  (b) ensure that the mean speed for vehicles using rural roads is not taken into account in setting appropriate speed limits for those roads.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport has no plans to change the way in which speed limits for rural roads are set. Nor are there plans to move away from using mean speeds as the method of indicating an appropriate speed limit.
	Local authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits. The Department provides them with guidance, "DfT Circular 01/2006-Setting Local Speed Limits", which ensures speed limits are appropriately and consistently set. The guidance recommends local authorities use mean speeds to determine the appropriate speed limit.

Twickenham Railway Station

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the merits of lengthening of the platforms at Twickenham rail station to facilitate crowd management at stadium events.

Theresa Villiers: Platform lengthening at Twickenham station is being considered as part of a package of works to facilitate the operation of longer trains and more passenger capacity on the route to London Waterloo by 2014. The Department is in negotiation with Stagecoach South West Trains, the operator of Twickenham station for the delivery of this additional capacity.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies: Lancashire

Graham Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent representations he has received on the effect of his proposals for constituency boundaries on the boundaries of constituencies serving mill towns in East Lancashire.

Mark Harper: The Cabinet Office does not record correspondence in a way that would enable us to readily identify the specific content of correspondence to establish this.

Electoral Register

John Spellar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent estimate has his Department made of the number of owners of second homes who are registered as voters in more than one constituency.

Mark Harper: The Government have made no such estimate. An individual may be registered at more than one address if it appears to the electoral registration officer in more than one local authority area that they meet the residence requirement in each area. However, it is an offence for a person to vote twice in a general election.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Procurement

Nicholas Boles: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on how many occasions Government Departments have required professional indemnity from a contractor to the level of £1 million or above in each of the last five years; and what the monetary value was of the contracts concerned.

Francis Maude: This information is not held centrally.
	In circumstances where it is appropriate to require professional indemnity insurance, the Cabinet Office advises Departments to set the level of required cover commensurate with the contract's value and associated risks. Setting the level too high could exclude many potential bidders including SMEs.
	There are two contracts that have indemnity insurance over this level in the Cabinet Office; the Total Fm contract is £14 million, and the Fujitsu Flex contract is £5 million.

Public Sector: Procurement

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will take steps to enable national and multi-national companies on the Office of Government Commerce framework to subcontract to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their local areas for the purpose of helping SMEs obtain Government and local authority contracts.

Francis Maude: There is no reason why suppliers to the public sector cannot advertise sub-contracting opportunities to regional suppliers. Government will be interested in bids which involve SMEs and voluntary organisations. The new “Contracts Finder” facility will give prime contractors to Government the ability to advertise their sub-contracting opportunities online.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Regulation

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to adopt the one-in one-out system for regulation.

Chris Grayling: The Department has already adopted the Government's one-in, one-out policy. All new DWP regulatory measures brought forward, and which are within scope of the policy, will be managed accordingly.

Disability Living Allowance

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who will be affected by the implementation of his proposals to remove the mobility component of disability living allowance in 2014-15.

Maria Miller: We estimate that approximately 80,000 people who claim disability living allowance and live in residential care will be affected by the measure to cease paying the mobility component in Great Britain from October 2012.
	Accurate estimates of the number of people who claim disability living allowance and live in residential care are difficult to produce because before 1998 there was no requirement to record entry or exit dates in to residential care.
	The available evidence has been updated in light of new information on the status of care home residents who entered residential care before 1998. We subsequently updated our estimate of the number of people affected by the measure.

Housing Benefit: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) women and  (b) men in Wales who will be affected by the implementation of his proposed changes to housing benefit in the comprehensive spending review period.

Steve Webb: Impact assessments will be completed for each proposed measure in the emergency Budget and the comprehensive spending review. These assessments will be published in the normal way, accompanying the relevant legislation when introduced in Parliament.

Jobcentre Plus: Deptford

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the running cost was of the Jobcentre Plus service in Deptford high street in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the running cost was of the Jobcentre Plus service in Deptford High Street in the last 12 months for which figures are available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The running cost of the Jobcentre in Deptford High Street over the 2009/10 financial year was £2.2 million, including £0.33 million of estate running costs. This includes both salary costs and associated discretionary spend.
	Jobcentre Plus is an agency of the Department for Work and Pensions and many costs are only available for the whole of Jobcentre Plus and are not split down by individual sites. These costs therefore do not include centrally charged costs, such as information technology.

Jobcentre Plus: Deptford

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost per square metre was of the premises at 120-124 Deptford high street rented by Trillium on behalf of his Department in 2009-10.

Chris Grayling: The cost per square metre for the Jobcentre Plus premises at 120-124 high street, Deptford for the year 2009-10 was £400.44. This includes rent (at £59.46 per square metre), business rates, and other components that make up the unitary charge paid by the Department to Telereal Trillium for the provision of fully fitted and serviced accommodation.

Jobcentre Plus: South East

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost was of running Jobcentre Plus services at Jobcentres in the South East in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average cost of running Jobcentre Plus services at Jobcentres in the South East in the last 12 months for which figures are available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The average running cost of running a Jobcentre in the South East region over the 2009/10 financial year was £2.19 million, including £0.54 million of estate running costs. This includes both salary costs and associated discretionary spend.
	Jobcentre Plus is an agency of the Department for Work and Pensions and many costs are only available for the whole of Jobcentre Plus, and are not split down by individual sites. These costs therefore do not include centrally charged costs, such as information technology.

Materials Handling Equipment: Accidents

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Health and Safety Executive plans to publish its report into the collapse of a crane at Chandler's Wharf in Liverpool on 6 July 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive have recently concluded their investigation into the incident and are now considering if legal action should be taken. Until a decision has been reached and if instituted, any legal action concluded, the Health and Safety Executive are not in a position to release a report.

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for uprating the state earnings-related pension scheme in the period to 2014-15.

Steve Webb: Additional pension paid under the state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPS) will in future years continue to be increased in line with the growth in prices in the preceding year as measured by the consumer prices index.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce incidences of ambulance stacking attributable to a shortage of nursing staff and beds in accident and emergency departments.

Simon Burns: Local health care organisations know the health care needs and priorities of their local populations. They are best placed to determine the workforce required to deliver safe patient care within their available resources.
	The Department expects accident and emergency services and NHS ambulance services to be able to respond to varying workloads at different times and under varying pressures. The Department recommends that local health partners work closely together to draw up contingency arrangements to ensure that the national health service can cope efficiently and that trusts and strategic health authorities take urgent local action to ensure escalation plans include robust action to avoid ambulances queuing and therefore not to delay ambulance handover times.

Ambulance Services: Finance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on changing the ambulance funding model from a block grant to a per call-out tariff; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: While we have not received direct representations on this matter, departmental officials and colleagues from the national health service have worked together to develop 'currencies' for ambulance services which could form the basis of a future tariff.
	The use of these currencies in the collection of ambulance service activity and cost data will be mandatory for 2011-12, with the expectation being that currencies will be used for contracting in 2012-13 with prices agreed locally.

Ambulance Services: Regulation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has held with representatives of the private ambulance industry on the likely effect on that sector of the introduction of regulations governing it in April 2011.

Simon Burns: The Department undertook a consultation in March 2008 on the scope of registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the registration requirements. Details of the consultation, titled "a consultation on the framework for the registration of health and adult social care providers", and the Department's response have already been placed in the Library.
	Departmental officials met representatives from the private ambulance sector in March 2009 to discuss proposed regulations on registration with CQC.

Blood: Diseases

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to develop a strategy to reduce the risk posed by known and unknown pathogens to the security of the donated blood supply.

Anne Milton: The United Kingdom blood services must comply with the Blood Safety and Quality Regulation (2005), as amended. The principal measure to protect patients against transfusion-transmitted infections is the careful selection of blood donors, supplemented by specific testing for transfusion-transmitted infections.
	There are well established systems in place within the UK blood services to identify, assess and respond to threats to the UK blood supply posed by known and emerging pathogens that may be transmitted by transfusion. The independent expert Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs and the National Expert Panel on New and Emerging Infections also monitor developments nationally and internationally, and provide advice to the Department and to the blood services.
	A number of safety measures are in place to reduce the risk of transmission of variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) as there is no specific test available for screening of donors. These include lifetime deferral from donation by people who have been advised they may be at increased risk from vCJD and by those previously transfused; leucodepletion of all donated blood; the use of non-UK plasma for production of plasma products such as clotting factors; and importation of fresh frozen plasma for treatment of children under 16.
	The introduction of bacterial screening of platelets provides an additional safety measure for these products.

Cataracts: Surgery

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to widen choice for patients undergoing cataract surgery in NHS facilities; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: We are committed to extending choice for all national health service patients and service users, including those who are referred for elective care such as cataract treatment. We are currently consulting on proposals for giving patients and service users greater choice and control over their care and we will publish our response along with more detailed policy proposals early next year.

Clostridium

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will encourage hospital trusts with high numbers of clostridium difficile infections to conduct trials of prebiotic supplements; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Participation in trials is a local decision. Trials of suitable prebiotics or other adjuncts to treatment may be considered in addition to the implementation of best practice guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of clostridium difficile infection. This guidance stresses the role of isolation of cases, hand washing with soap and water, and the use of appropriated antibiotics for treatment, together with sound antibiotic stewardship policies. These measures, unlike the use of prebiotics, have been shown to reduce infections and improve patient outcomes.

Clostridium

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each hospital trust in England spent on the prevention and treatment of clostridium difficile in 2009.

Simon Burns: This information is not collected centrally.

Complementary Medicine: Regulation

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on statutory regulation of acupuncturists, herbalists and practitioners of Chinese medicine; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Government are currently considering their overall strategy on professional regulation, including the possibility of establishing a registration scheme for practitioners of these traditional forms of medicine.
	The Department has had discussions with the Health Professions Council, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council and the General Pharmaceutical Council about the possibility of establishing a statutory register for herbal medicine practitioners. We are discussing policy options with the Devolved Administrations and we expect to make an announcement on the way forward shortly.

Dental Services

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of people not registered with a dentist in  (a) Bradford East constituency and  (b) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Under the dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a national health service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') over a 24 month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	Information on the number of patients seen in the previous 24 months, in England, is available in Table Dl of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England-2010-11, First quarterly report". Information is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 30 September 2010 and is provided by primary care trust and by strategic health authority but is not available by parliamentary constituency.
	This report, published on 24 November 2010, has been already placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats1011q1

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Simon Burns: The Department is fully committed to the coalition's pledge to promote small business procurement, as set out in section 2, page 10 of the document 'The Coalition: our programme for government'.
	In the financial year 2009-10, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for more than 25% of the total of suppliers to the Department and it is anticipated that a similar level of business will be awarded by the Department to SME's in 2010-11.
	In addition, to further encourage and support SMEs and third sector organisations to compete for contracts, the Department complies with the requirements of the coalition's transparency agenda by publishing online all new information and communications technology contracts and tender documents over £10,000. From January 2011, all new contracts will be published online. It is also the Department's intention to utilise an online 'contracts finder' application, which will give users greater visibility on procurement opportunities.

Departmental Manpower

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) names,  (b) job titles and  (c) qualifications are of the members of his Department's Steering Group of officials in respect of the review of prescription drug addiction.

Simon Burns: The membership of the Steering Group to oversee the policy on addiction to medicines takes account of all the relevant policy areas within the Department and its arm's length bodies. It includes officials and experts representing drugs policy, mental health, pharmacy issues, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
	In line with Freedom of Information rules the Department's policy is that the names of officials should be withheld from disclosure unless they are members of the senior civil service or have a high profile that would justify release. The names have therefore been edited accordingly.
	
		
			  Organisation  Title  Name 
			 Department of Health Deputy Director Alcohol and Drugs Chris Heffer 
			 Department of Health Senior Medical Officer, Drugs and Alcohol Dr Mark Prunty 
			 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Group Manager, Therapeutic Review Jeremy Mean 
			 Department of Health Deputy National Clinical Director for Mental Health in England Hugh Griffiths 
		
	
	There are six other members of the Steering Group below senior civil service level.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: The Department sources its national press cuttings service via a framework agreement used by various Government Departments. Daily cuttings from the national press have been provided by Precise Media since 1 July 2007.
	Prior to April 2010, regional press cuttings were sourced from Kantar Media Intelligence (formally known as TNS Media Intelligence) via a rolling agreement. Since April 2010, the regional press cuttings service has been provided by Precise Media.
	The total amount the Department has spent on press cutting services (both national and regional cuttings) in each year since 2003-04 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Department of Health 
			  Financial year( 1)  Spend on press cuttings( 2 ) (£) 
			 2003-04 102,771.22 
			 2004-05 87,932.69 
			 2005-06 157,749.99 
			 2006-07 186,726.95 
			 2007-08 130,126.92 
			 2008-09 119,180.72 
			 2009-10 133,055.81 
			 (1 )The legal requirement for the Department to hold financial data is seven years. We are therefore unable to provide any figures before 2003-04.  (2) The figures provided are all inclusive of VAT and are based on payment date, rather than invoice date.

Depressive Illnesses: Suicide

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients with manic depression have committed suicide in each NHS trust in England in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Burstow: We do not collect such data centrally. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness team at Manchester University collects data on suicide cases in mental health patients but the inquiry does not provide data by trust. Rather it publishes national data through their National Confidential Inquiry reports.
	I should also refer the hon. Member to the table I provided in the response of 25 November 2010, Official Report, column 424W, which shows a breakdown by year of the number of patients with a primary diagnosis of bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, who died by suicide in the most recent 10 years for which data is available.

General Practitioners

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether board meetings of GP consortia will be held in public under his proposals for re-organisation of the NHS.

Anne Milton: General practitioner consortia will define their own governance processes within a broad legislative framework, which will be outlined in the forthcoming Health and Social Care Bill. Some consortia might choose to adopt public board meetings as part of their appropriate governance arrangements, but this will be up to them to decide.

Health Services

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether centres of excellence for the care of conditions such as diabetes will be retained after the implemention of the proposals in the Health White Paper.

Simon Burns: We believe that patients should have access to high quality treatment, at the right place and at the right time. Services should be locally accessible wherever possible and centralised only where necessary, but it is for the national health service to determine the design of local services. The reforms outlined in the White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS will therefore liberate professionals and providers from top-down control. This will secure the quality, innovation and productivity needed to improve outcomes.
	We will give responsibility for commissioning and budgets to groups of general practitioner practices; and providers will be free to shape their services around the needs and choices of patients. Any decisions about the configuration of local health services should take full account of clinical evidence, public engagement, general practitioner commissioning and referral intentions, and the current and prospective pattern of patient choice.

Health Services: South East

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the work of NHS Innovations South East on the quality of health services; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Responsibility for reviewing and commissioning the services provided by the nine innovation hubs (NHS Innovations) and to promote innovation in the national health service currently rests with strategic health authorities (SHAs), which will continue until March 2012.
	It is a matter for South East Coast and South Central SHAs following their review of NHS Innovations South East (NISE) to decide on the value of services provided by NISE in these challenging times.

Herbal Medicine

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are followed for testing herbal medicines before they are provided on the NHS.

Anne Milton: Manufactured herbal medicines placed on the United Kingdom market are required to have either a marketing authorisation, based on evidence of safety, quality and efficacy, or a traditional herbal registration, based on evidence of safety, quality and traditional use. Certain unlicensed herbal remedies are not required to meet specific standards: those supplied following a face to face consultation under section 12(1) of the Medicines Act 1968, and those supplied under section 12(2) of the Act. Section 12(2) will no longer be available following the expiry at 30 April 2011 of the transitional protection afforded by the European Directive on traditional herbal medicinal products.

Human Experiments: Nuclear Weapons

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have had their medical records flagged under the  (a) Nuclear Weapons Tests Participants (MR1185) and  (b) National Registry for Radiation Workers (MR47) study.

Anne Milton: The success of these epidemiological studies depends on accurate and unbiased cause of death and cancer incidence data. This information is sourced, through the National Health Service Central Registers (NHSCRs), from national registries such as cancer registries and mortality registers. The NHSCR records are flagged but medical records are neither flagged nor accessed for either of the studies. The most recent analysis reports for each study show the number of individuals in the study populations. All study members were submitted for flagging on the NHSCRs.
	A total of 43,690 records (21,357 test participants and 22,333 controls) had been submitted for flagging on the NHSCRs and were reported in the 2003 Nuclear Weapons Test Participant Study analysis report. Follow up of mortality and incidence of cancer 1952-98 in men from the United Kingdom who participated in the UK's atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and experimental programmes. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60, 165-172 (2003). Muirhead CR, Bingham D, Haylock RGE, O'Hagan JA, Goodill AA, Berridge GLC, English MA, Hunter N and Kendall GM.
	A total of 174,541 records had been submitted for flagging on the NHSCRs and were reported in the 2009 National Registry for Radiation Workers analysis report. This study population is still increasing and additional records are being flagged over time. Mortality and cancer incidence following occupational radiation exposure: 3(rd) analysis of the National Registry for Radiation Workers. Br J Cancer, 100, 206-12 (2009). Muirhead CR, O'Hagan JA, Haylock RGE, Phillipson MA, Willcock T, Berridge GLC and Zhang W.

Human Experiments: Nuclear Weapons

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Nuclear Weapons Tests Participants medical research study MR1185 was first instigated; and what criteria were set for the flagging of medical records.

Anne Milton: In 1983, scientists from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB, now part of the Health Protection Agency) and from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) were commissioned by the Ministry of Defence to carry out an independent epidemiological study of participants in the United Kingdom atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, both in the Pacific and in Australia:
	Epidemiological studies of UK test veterans: I General Description. Journal of Radiological Protection 24 199-217; Kendall G. M., Muirhead C. R., Darby S. C., Doll R., Arnold L., O'Hagan J. A.
	The success of the study depends on accurate and unbiased cause of death and cancer incidence data. This is sourced, through the National Health Service Central Registers (NHSCRs), from national registries such as cancer registries and mortality registers. The NHSCR records are flagged but medical records are neither flagged nor accessed for the study. Every individual study member was submitted for flagging with the NHSCRs.

Maternity Services

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that implementation of the  (a) Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services and  (b) NICE specialist neonatal care quality standard is made a local priority in the 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework.

Anne Milton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 'Quality Standard for Specialist Neonatal Care' and the 'Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services' are tools to assist national health service commissioners and providers in the provision high quality care for babies and their families.
	It is too early to say what is in or out of the NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12. We are currently developing the transitional arrangements for ensuring that the NHS can deliver on the spending review settlement while remaining focused on finance, quality, performance, work force and QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) in the light of the NHS White Paper.

Meat: Dairy Products

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the entry of meat and dairy products from cloned animals into the food chain.

Anne Milton: Any food obtained from cloned animals is regulated as a "novel food" under Regulation (EC) No 258/97(1). According to this regulation, novel foods may not be marketed in the European Union without an authorisation. Applications for authorisation of novel foods are evaluated by national authorities against criteria of safety, nutritional quality and not misleading the consumer. The Food Standards Agency is the competent authority for novel foods in the United Kingdom and expert advice on applications is provided by the independent Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes. This advice would form the basis of the Agency's risk assessment which would be subject to review by all 26 other EU member states before an authorisation is issued. To date, the Agency has not received any applications for the authorisation of food produced from cloned animals.
	(1) Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients.
	In October 2010 the European Commission published a report on animal cloning which recommended a temporary ban on the marketing of products obtained from cloned animals. The Government's view is that such a ban would be disproportionate in terms of food safety and animal welfare and insufficient evidence has been provided to justify it.
	Any proposal should be supported by an impact assessment that demonstrates the need for and benefit of new regulation.

Medical Equipment: Hygiene

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the procedures of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in respect of the regulation of the sterility of medical containers.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the competent authority under European Union legislation for medical devices in the United Kingdom: it has responsibility for ensuring that medical devices placed on the UK market meet the requirements of the Medical Devices Regulations including those relating to sterility.
	If a medical device is placed on the market as being sterile then the manufacturer must meet the relevant regulatory requirements set out in the regulations. Any assessment required under the regulations is carried out by a third party independent certification organisation known as a notified body. The agency is not part of this certification process but does designate and audit UK notified bodies as being competent to undertake this task.

Myasthenia: Drugs

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has had discussions with BioMarin on the provision of drugs for  (a) Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome and  (b) congenital myasthenic syndrome.

Simon Burns: Departmental officials have had discussions with BioMarin about the pricing and provision of Firdapse (amifampridine) for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. Firdapse is not licensed for the treatment of congenital myasthenic syndrome.

Public Health: Finance

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms will be in place to ensure that the funding held by primary care trusts for public health improvement will be transferred in full to local authorities when they take responsibility for that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: Subject to Parliament, following the abolition of primary care trusts (PCTs), responsibilities for local health improvement, and some aspects of health protection, will transfer to local authorities. A ring-fenced grant of appropriate size will be made to upper tier and unitary local authorities for this purpose. The first such grant will be made for 2013-14.
	The Department has made an initial assessment of baseline spend on the areas for which Public Health England will become responsible. This is the first step in determining the size of the future ring-fenced public health budget. The Department will shortly publish a consultation, following 'Healthy Lives, Healthy People', on the details of the proposed scope, funding and commissioning responsibilities in the new public health system, including the role of local authorities.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust: Pay

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of the number of staff at South London Healthcare NHS Trust who earn over £100,000 per year.

Simon Burns: This information is not held centrally.
	Information in relation to remuneration for South London Healthcare NHS Trust's executive directors can be found in the trust's annual report.

Weather: Health Services

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken in preparation for anticipated severe weather to ensure that  (a) older people and  (b) other vulnerable groups are protected; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) on 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 168W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Conferences

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he has taken since his appointment to reduce expenditure on conferences from budgets within his responsibility.

John Penrose: Following the formation of the new Government and the resulting spending review, the Department announced an intention to reduce administration costs by 50% by 2014-15.
	As part of this budget reduction all administration costs across the Department are subject to review, including those for hosting conferences, events and all other hospitality.
	All proposals also continue to be subject to scrutiny to ensure value for money.

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

John Penrose: The Department has adopted a proactive approach in the past by implementing many of the recommendations made by the Glover report.
	Currently, the Department works to the simplified Pre Qualification Questionnaire issued by the Office of Government Commerce. This enables public sector purchasers to identify the most suitable suppliers to invite to tender.
	All departmental contracts of £10, 000 or over awarded in the last five years have been advertised through supply2gov, who provide small businesses with visibility of public sector contract opportunities.
	The Department also measures and monitors the percentage of spend with small and medium-sized enterprises against large suppliers on a yearly basis.

Departmental Overtime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on overtime for staff working within the Secretary of State's private office in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: The amount of money paid as overtime to staff working in the Secretary of State's private office in each of the last five years is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount of overtime spent (£) 
			 2009-10 11,553 
			 2008-09 32,117 
			 2007-08 36,553 
			 2006-07 33,944 
			 2005-06 35,999

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

John Penrose: The Department's accounting system does not separate the printing costs of parliamentary, consultation and other official documents by type.
	The table lists the Department's expenditure on printing and publications through The Stationery Office for the last 10 years.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2009-10 60,381.98 
			 2008-09 45,695.16 
			 2007-06 71,057.97 
			 2006-07 54,518.23 
			 2005-06 66,306.77 
			 2004-05 74,964.98 
			 2003-04 90,692.52 
			 2002-03 94,298.60 
			 2001-02 52,820.05 
			 2000-01 52,988.07 
			 1999-2000 44,599.77

Departmental Travel

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on grey fleet in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

John Penrose: The amount claimed for motor mileage on departmental business in private vehicles within travel and subsistence in the UK cannot be separately identified without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The Department's policy on staff travel limits claims at the HMRC approved mileage rate to official journeys which could not practically be made by public transport, or where the employee needs to use a car because of disability. Where, exceptionally, a staff member needs to use a private vehicle for any other reason, claims are paid at a reduced rate.

Horseracing Betting Levy

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to announce the conclusions of his Department's review of remote gambling; and whether he has taken account of the effect on the Horseracing Betting Levy of the remote gambling industry in formulating those conclusions.

John Penrose: A consultation on the Regulatory Future of Remote Gambling in Great Britain closed on 18 June 2010. Since then, I have been examining the issues and identifying possible solutions.
	I have also received advice from the Levy Board about securing fair contributions from overseas betting operators towards the Horserace Betting Levy.
	I hope to be able to make an announcement in due course.

Horseracing Betting Levy

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to ensure that all areas of the betting industry contribute to the Horseracing Betting Levy.

Hugh Robertson: We are discussing the options with the Levy Board and the racing and betting industries, to ensure that funding for racing is fair and is collected from as broad a base as possible.

Olympic Games 2012

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with transport operators on travel from elsewhere in the UK to London for  (a) those volunteering,  (b) adults with paid tickets and  (c) schoolchildren with donated tickets to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport has had no direct discussions with transport operators as these discussions take place with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
	The ODA is in discussion with transport operators, such as train operating companies and coach companies, to develop Olympic Service Delivery Plans (OSDP). These plans focus on the provision of additional capacity to meet the extra demand there will be at games time, including trains running earlier in the morning or later at night. More detail on these services will be announced next year.

Olympic Games 2012

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with local authorities and others on accommodation for those from elsewhere in the UK in London who are  (a) volunteering,  (b) adults with paid tickets and  (c) schoolchildren with donated tickets to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Hugh Robertson: There are no central plans to provide volunteers or spectators with accommodation in London. However there are venues at other locations across the UK which will give people the chance to get involved with the Games in their own local area.
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has made it clear that volunteers and spectators will be expected to find and pay for their own accommodation. This has not put people off applying to become London 2012 Games Makers, as LOCOG has received over 240,000 applications from across the UK.
	The Life-Time UK Alliance, initiated by Volunteering England, is setting up discussions with voluntary organisations, which have capacities to offer accommodation for volunteers, to explore whether they could make provision within their resources for volunteers.

Olympic Games 2012: Finance

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what savings to the public purse his Department identified in the budget for the 2012 London Olympics as part of the comprehensive spending review.

Hugh Robertson: The spending review reduced the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) forecast completion cost by £20 million. This saving will be achieved by no longer delivering the external "Wrap" around the Olympic Stadium, unless alternative sources of funding, or savings from other efficiencies, can be found. This decision is subject to planning conditions. The £20 million saving has been added to the contingency fund potentially available for the Olympic programme.
	This cost reduction is additional to over £700 million of savings to the public purse achieved in the Olympic programme to date, including the £27 million saving announced in May 2010 as part of the in-year savings across Government.
	The Government remain committed to delivering a safe and successful games within the £9.3 billion public sector funding package, and are seeking cost savings wherever possible.

Royal Parks

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what legislation he proposes to bring forward in respect of the Royal Parks.

John Penrose: holding answer 29 November 2010
	It remains a Government policy to transfer responsibility of the Royal Parks to the Greater London authority and we will legislate at the first available opportunity.

Sports

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the relationship between the level of success at elite level sport and mass participation in sport at grassroots level; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The results of UK Sport's post-Beijing Sporting Preferences survey were that 18% of British adults said that the success of Team GB at the Beijing Olympics or Paralympics had led to specific changes in their participation, involvement or interest in sport.
	In addition, research commissioned by Sport England in 2009 with Mike Weed from the Centre for Sport, Physical Education and Activity Research (SPEAR), titled 'The Potential of the Demonstration Effect to Grow and Sustain Participation in Sport', concluded that people can be inspired by elite sport, sports people or sports events to participate themselves. On the issue of increasing the numbers of participants, it was found that this was mainly the case with former participants whose participation has lapsed. The study also showed that this was most effective where there was a local connection.
	UK Sport is currently finalising research into the inspirational effects of major sports events, which they will publish in the new year.

Sports Cabinet

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  who he plans to invite to the meeting of the Sports Cabinet planned for early 2011;
	(2)  if he will invite representatives of School Sports Partnerships or their young ambassadors to the meeting of the Sports Cabinet planned for early 2011;
	(3)  what subjects will be on the agenda for the meeting of the Sports Cabinet planned for early 2011.

Hugh Robertson: The Sports Cabinet comprises the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and the four home country Ministers with responsibility for sport, as well as the chairs of UK Sport and the home country sports councils.
	Its focus is on issues affecting sport across the UK. We are working with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to finalise the agenda for the next meeting scheduled for 15 February 2011.
	The Sports Cabinet is able to draw on expert advice on particular issues but there are no plans to invite representatives of school sport partnerships or young ambassadors at this stage.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Aimhigher Programme

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) interventions were made in respect of and  (b) people participated in the Aimhigher programme in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Willetts: In the 2009-10 academic year, the latest year for which figures are available, the total number of events reported by Aimhigher partnerships was 54,544.
	It is not possible to give a figure for the number of separate participants. However, in the 2009-10 academic year, the number of individual contacts totalled 2,226,580. Many participants took part in more than one activity and it is not possible to estimate the number of people helped.
	In addition, the national roadshow held 4,850 sessions for approximately 70,000 learners.
	The coalition Government are committed to providing a new impetus for social mobility in this country and will be investing in raising the attainment and aspiration of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Universities and schools have learned a lot from the Aimhigher programme about "what works" and can build on this in a way that best supports their pupils and students.

Animal Experiments

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to ensure that the  (a) Medical Research Council and  (b) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council include improving the protection of animals in their corporate and strategic aims.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are non-departmental public bodies which receive their grant in aid from this Department. In keeping with the Haldane principle, day-to-day decisions on the scientific merits of different strategies, programmes and projects are taken by the Research Councils without Government involvement.
	The MRC and BBSRC are committed to ensuring that any research programmes they fund follow high standards of animal welfare, and avoid the use of animals wherever an alternative exists. In partnership with other funders of biomedical research in the UK the MRC and BBSRC have published guidelines on "Responsibility in the use of animals in bioscience research" This is available from NC3R's website:
	http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/document.asp?id=1319
	and also from the MRC and BBSRC. Compliance with the guidelines is a condition of funding for all grants involving the use of animals.
	The MRC and BBSRC are also the major funders of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs):
	www.nc3rs.org.uk
	The centre provides a UK focus for the promotion, development and implementation of the 3Rs in animal research and testing, and brings together academia, industry, government and animal welfare organisations. NC3Rs aims to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, and the translation of research findings into practice that will benefit both animals and science. The centre funds high-quality 3Rs research, organises workshops and symposia to disseminate and advance the 3Rs, and develops 3Rs information resources and guidelines.

Animal Experiments

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to ensure that the  (a) Medical Research Council and  (b) Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council prioritise reductions in expenditure on animal experiments and the development of methods that reduce and replace the use of animals in laboratory experiments.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are non-departmental public bodies which receive their grant in aid from my Department. In keeping with the Haldane principle, day-to-day decisions on the scientific merits of different strategies, programmes and projects are taken by the Research Councils without Government involvement.
	The law states that the use of animals in research where it may cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm, is subject to licence and will be permitted only where there is no practicable alternative. The MRC and BBSRC are committed to ensuring that any research programmes they fund follow high standards of animal welfare and avoid the use of animals wherever an alternative exists. All proposals submitted to the MRC and BBSRC are subject to robust peer review which includes assessment of the justification for the proposed use of animals. The MRC and BBSRC are committed to supporting research which aims to refine techniques, reduce numbers, and replace animals in research wherever possible, supporting research programmes which contribute to developing new knowledge or new methods that help replace or refine animal use and in providing funding for the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs):
	www.nc3rs.org.uk

Apprentices

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the new apprenticeships announced in his Department's paper Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth he expects to be in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector; and what proportion of such apprenticeships of each type he expects to be at level (i) two, (ii) three and (iii) four.

John Hayes: holding answer 3 December 2010
	Last month, "Skills for Sustainable Growth" and "Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth" set out the Government's plans to abolish central targets and increase freedom and flexibility for Further Education colleges and training organisations to respond effectively to the needs of employers, learners and their communities. Support for employers to offer more Apprenticeships will be a key part of that response. The Apprenticeships Programme is demand led, so the Government do not set targets for Apprenticeships by sector or level. But the Government have announced that they will increase annual funding for Apprenticeships by up to £250 million a year, so that by 2014-15 up to 75,000 more places will be available than under the previous administration.
	We are committed to improving and expanding Apprenticeships, and will reshape the Apprenticeships programme so that Level 3 becomes the level to which learners and employers aspire.

Apprentices

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people aged 19 years and over are taking apprenticeships at level  (a) 2,  (b) 3 and  (c) 4 in 2010-11; and how many such people took apprenticeships at each level in each of the three previous years.

John Hayes: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The following table shows the number of Apprenticeship Programme starts by level for learners aged 19 years and over in England for 2005/06 to 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	
		
			  Apprenticeship programme starts for learners aged 19 and over by level, 2005/06 to 2008/09 
			   2005/06  2006/07  2007/08  2008/09 
			 Apprenticeship (Level 2) 45,700 46,600 69,800 84,300 
			 Advanced apprenticeship (Level 3) 29,700 32,100 47,400 56,100 
			 Higher apprenticeship (Level 4 or higher) - 100 - 100 
			 All apprenticeships 75,500 78,800 117,200 140,600 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. '-' Indicates a base figure of less than 50. 3. Figures are based on age at start of programme.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	This Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced and higher apprenticeships. British employers currently face a work force with insufficient skills at intermediate technician and associate professional level, critical to many industries of the future.
	Expanding Level 3 and Level 4 apprenticeships will make a significant contribution to remedying the shortage of people with this level of qualification.
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 16 November 2010:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Broadband

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the proportion of households in each parliamentary constituency which have access to broadband at speeds of 2 Mb or more.

Edward Vaizey: This Department has not published estimates by constituency. According to the Digital Britain report published in 2009 approximately 11% of households do not have access to broadband at speeds of 2 MBps or more.
	Broadband Delivery UK is assessing current broadband provision at community level across the UK in its work to deliver the coalition Government's objective to facilitate universal broadband access of at least 2 Mbps.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to support sub-loop unbundling to increase broadband competition in rural areas.

Edward Vaizey: Sub loop unbundling (SLU) is a regulated product offered by BT Openreach. Take-up of SLU is first and foremost a matter for Openreach and its customers, with Ofcom able to intervene if necessary.
	I have had discussions with communications service providers, Ofcom and BT Openreach regarding this subject and will play a facilitative role where there are issues that need to be addressed in discussion between the parties.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial assistance is available to  (a) individuals and  (b) community groups in rural areas who wish to be connected to broadband services.

Edward Vaizey: The coalition Government have committed £530 million in the recently announced comprehensive spending review (CSR) to support broadband rollout, including a standard level of service for all. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) are in the process of assessing the models for commercial deployment of broadband with public support in commercially challenging/rural areas and will be working with local government bodies, such as county councils on models for local delivery of broadband.

Broadband: Wales

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the level of access to broadband in Wales; and what steps his Department is taking to increase that level.

Edward Vaizey: This Department has not published estimates. However, according to the most recent Ofcom Communications Market Report published in August, broadband delivered over a standard fixed telephony line is also available to all homes and commercial properties in Wales, as all local exchanges in Wales are DSL-enabled. But various factors (such as line length and contention) influence the actual broadband speed at customer premises. Broadband take-up in Wales has risen to 64% of homes but this still lags behind the UK average of 71%.
	Broadband Delivery UK is assessing current broadband provision at community level across the UK in its work to deliver the Coalition Government's objective to facilitate universal broadband in the UK.
	The Government aim to stimulate private sector investment to deliver the best superfast broadband network in Europe by 2015. Broadband Delivery UK is working with the Welsh Assembly Government to bring the benefits of superfast broadband investment to Wales.

Consumer Direct

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people contacted Consumer Direct in each of the last five years; and how many such contacts related to debt and consumer finance issues.

Edward Davey: The following table details the required information.
	
		
			   All contacts( 1)  (Thousand)  Unique contacts( 2)  Unique contacts regarding credit and debt  Percentage of credit/debt unique contacts 
			 2006 1,100 979,176 14,518 1.5 
			 2007 1,600 1,141,691 18,615 1.6 
			 2008 1,700 1,181,279 22,988 1.9 
			 2009 1,700 1,142,320 29,653 2.6 
			 2010(3) 1,100 1,013,278 29,145 2.9 
			 Total 7,200 5,457,744 114,919 2.1 
			 (1) All contacts to the service even if they are from the same person about the same issue.  (2) One record per issue from a consumer.  (3 )To date.

Credit

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proposals to improve access to affordable credit he has considered.

Edward Davey: Well-informed, empowered consumers are central to our vision for how a credit market between customers and lenders should work. I want to encourage both to take responsible decisions and to strengthen protection where necessary, particularly for the most vulnerable. Earlier this year I announced a joint BIS and HM Treasury review of consumer credit and personal insolvency that will look at all aspects of the consumer credit lifecycle from the decision to take out a loan through the lifetime of the loan.
	The review will also provide a framework for us to consider how best to take forward the recommendations from the recent OFT review of the high cost credit market. Among those being considered are that the Government should work with lenders to provide information on high-cost credit loans through price comparison websites, and that the Government work with credit reference agencies to explore ways in which high cost credit lenders could provide information to credit reference agencies on the payment performance of their customers, allowing those with good payment records to use mainstream lenders more easily in the future.
	Government are also firmly supportive of a stronger link up between the Post Office and credit unions and we are actively looking into ways the two can work more closely together. For example, Post Office Ltd plans to share guidance with sub-postmasters shortly to demonstrate how they can work with local credit unions.

Financial Services: Regulation

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has assessed the likely effects on  (a) small businesses and  (b) independent financial advisers of the Financial Services Authority's proposals to implement the recommendations of the Retail Distribution Review.

Mark Hoban: I have been asked to reply.
	The Financial Services Authority (FSA), an independent body, is introducing the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). The FSA has consulted extensively on the RDR since 2006 and in accordance with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, has published cost-benefit analyses of the proposals.
	The FSA has also published analysis of the impact of its proposals on different sectors of the industry alongside policy documents; including research by Deloitte and Oxera, as well as a survey from NMG Consulting which asked specific questions about the impact of the changes on sole traders. This information is available on the FSA's website.

Higher Education: Finance

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government's proposals for higher education funding on the international competitiveness of universities in  (a) England and  (b) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency.

David Willetts: The UK higher education system is already recognised as world class and internationally competitive. The reforms we are proposing seek to build on and strengthen that position. In particular we expect that increased student choice will improve quality and drive up standards. This country is already a popular destination for international students second only to the United States and we expect that to continue as the student experience improves. Our reforms will put university funding on to a more sustainable footing which will benefit institutions in Oxford West and Abingdon and across the country.

Higher Education: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department plans to spend on higher education in each year to 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the level of such expenditure under the current arrangements for higher education funding in each such year.

David Willetts: Funding for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) for 2011-12 will be published in its annual grant letter before Christmas this year.
	Funding for subsequent years will be announced in due course.

National Union of Students

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the accounts of the National Union of Students for each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The Department does not hold this information. The accounts of the National Union of Students will be available from the organisation itself.

Regional Growth Fund

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to paragraph 4.8 of the Local Growth White Paper, Cm 7981, from what budget headings the funding from other departmental budgets to increase the regional growth fund will be drawn.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	As set out in "Local Growth: realising every place's potential", published on 28 October 2010, funding for the regional growth fund will be drawn from the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Royal Mail: Greater London

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of the East London Mail Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: Decisions relating to the East London Mail Centre are an operational matter for Royal Mail.
	I have therefore asked Moya Greene, the Chief Executive of Royal Mail, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Social Enterprises

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on the number of social enterprises established in the last 10 years; and what information it holds on the proportion of such enterprises which have continued to operate after three years.

Mark Prisk: BIS does not hold information on the number of social enterprises established in the last 10 years. It also does not hold information on the proportion of such enterprises which have continued to operate after three years.
	BIS do produce estimates of the number of social enterprises in the UK. Latest estimates are that there are around 60,000 social enterprises with employees in the UK-around 5% of all SMEs with employees.
	More information on social enterprises can be found in the BIS report "Social Enterprise Barometer February 2010" at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/enterprise/docs/s/10-1076-social-enterprise-barometer-feb-2010

Student Unions

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library copies of the financial reports of each student union which have been made available to governing bodies in accordance with section 22(2)(h) of the Education Act 1994 since the implementation of that Act;
	(2)  what steps he classifies as reasonably practicable for the purposes of complying with the requirements provided for in section 22(2) of the Education Act 1994;
	(3)  what guidance on  (a) secondary legislation and  (b) compliance his Department and its predecessors have provided to (i) governing bodies and (ii) students' unions in respect of section 22 of the Education Act 1994;
	(4)  what the name and address is of each independent person appointed by each higher education institution governing body to investigate and report on complaints from students on their union in accordance with section 22(2)(m) of the Education Act 1994;
	(5)  if he will place in the Library copies of publications by each higher education institution that bring to the attention of students those matters listed in section 22(5) of the Education Act 1994 for the most recent period in which such publications are available;
	(6)  what steps his Department and its predecessors have taken to ensure compliance by  (a) governing bodies and  (b) students' unions with the provisions of section 22(1) to (5) of the Education Act 1994 on requirements to be observed in relation to students' unions;
	(7)  whether his Department has been informed of an infringement of the requirements of  (a) section 22(1),  (b) section 22(2)(a),  (c) section 22(2)(b),  (d) section 22(2)(e),  (e) section 22(2)(f),  (f) section 22(2)(g),  (g) section 22(2)(h),  (h) section 22(2)(i),  (i) section 22(2)(j),  (j) section 22(2)(k),  (k) section 22(l)(i),  (l) section 22(2)(m),  (m) section 22(2)(n),  (n) section 22(2)(c)(i),  (o) section 22(2)(c)(ii),  (p) section 22(3),  (q) section 22(4) and (r) section 22(5) of the Education Act 1994 in the last 10 years;
	(8)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each publication published by each higher education institution governing body bringing to the attention of students those matters listed in sections 22(4)(b) and 22(4)(c) of the Education Act 1994;
	(9)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each code of practice published by each higher education institution governing body in accordance with section 22(3)(b) of the Education Act 1994 since the implementation of that Act.

David Willetts: The Department does not hold copies of the reports, publications or codes of practice requested. They would need to be requested from the relevant higher education institution or student union, as appropriate. Nor does the Department hold details of the independent persons referred to in section 22(2)(m) of the Education Act 1994.
	Higher education institutions, as autonomous organisations, are themselves responsible for determining what steps they need to take to ensure compliance with any relevant piece of legislation which applies to them. As far as records show the Department has not been informed of any infringements of these provisions of the Education Act 1994. Nor has the Department issued guidance on (a) secondary legislation or (b) compliance in respect of section 22. Any infringement of legislation would be a matter for the courts to consider.

Student Unions

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to bring forward proposals to make  (a) student unions and  (b) external organisations affiliated to student unions subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

David Willetts: There are no plans to make  (a) students' unions or  (b) external organisations affiliated to students' unions subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Police Officer Numbers

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the change in the number of police officers in England and Wales between March 1997 and March 2010.

Nick Herbert: On 31 March 2010 there were 142,132 police officers, compared with 125,825 on 31 March 1997.

National DNA Database

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date she expects DNA records of people not charged with a crime to have been removed from the national DNA database.

Theresa May: The Government are committed to restoring the rights of individuals, particularly the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. We will bring forward proposals for a more proportionate DNA retention regime in the new year. This will adopt the protections of the Scottish model. We will remove the vast majority of unconvicted people from the National DNA Database as soon as possible after Parliament has agreed to our proposals.
	We are also taking steps to ensure that the database will, for the first time, hold the profiles of all serving prisoners and all those previously convicted of serious crimes, rather than wasting resources on the retention of the DNA of innocent people.

Security Threats

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methodology her Department follows to determine the nature of security threats to the UK.

Theresa May: As part of the Government's National Security Strategy, we conducted a National Security Risk Assessment. This is the first time that Government have ever undertaken a comprehensive assessment of all national security risks to the UK. The most important risks were then placed into three tiers to inform the strategic defence and security review.

Police Community Support Officers

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with police forces on the likely number of police community support officers at the end of 2014-15.

Nick Herbert: The number of police officers is not set by central Government, but we believe that forces can make savings to ensure that visible and available policing is secured for the public.

Licensing

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to review the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003.

Theresa May: The Government's proposals for amendments to the Licensing Act were outlined in our response to the consultation on "Rebalancing the Licensing Act", which was published on 1 December. Many of these measures will be introduced through legislation included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, which was introduced on 30 November.

Crime: Alcoholic Drinks

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes attributable to alcohol per 1,000 crimes there were in  (a) each local authority in Wiltshire,  (b) Wiltshire and  (c) England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse was of such crime in each such area in each such year.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 1 December 2010
	Data relating to police recorded crime where alcohol is an attributable factor is not collected centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
	The total number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for alcohol-related offences, and the number of alcohol related offences per 1,000 prosecutions for all offences, in the Wiltshire police force area and England, from 2000-09 can be viewed in following table. Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication in spring 2011.
	These figures cover the Wiltshire police force area because data held on the Ministry of Justice's Court Proceedings Database are not available at local authority area level.
	
		
			  T otal number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for alcohol-related offences( 1) , and number per 1,000 prosecutions for all offences, Wiltshire police force area and England, 2000 - 09( 2,3) 
			   Number of defendants 
			  Area  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  England   
			 Total proceeded against for alcohol-related offences 108,281 107,549 114,039 117,245 110,501 102,218 101,614 99,979 93,726 91,503 
			 per 1,000 proceeded against for all offences 61 63 63 63 59 58 61 62 61 58 
			 of which:   
			  Wiltshire police force area   
			 Total proceeded against for alcohol-related offences 1,232 1,301 1,290 1,437 1,340 1,232 1,136 895 787 712 
			 per 1,000 proceeded against for all offences 64 64 60 60 59 54 54 45 46 37 
			 (1) Includes offences of: (a) Drunkenness simple. (b) Drunkenness with aggravation. (c) Offences by licenced person. (d) Other offences against intoxicating liquor laws. (e) Driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs. (f) Causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Redundancy

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have been offered enhanced early retirement packages in each of the last three years.

Nick Herbert: In accordance with Cabinet Office guidance and in the knowledge that the Superannuation Bill will remove the option for enhanced benefits, the Home Office and its agencies (UK Border Agency, Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service) have offered no enhanced terms in the recent voluntary early departure scheme. The figures for previous years are in the following table:
	
		
			   Staff leaving with enhanced terms 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Employer name  CER  FER  Total  CER  FER  Total  CER  FER  Total 
			 Criminal Records Bureau - - 0 - 1 1 - - 0 
			 Identity and Passport Service - 2 2 26 - 26 - 10 10 
			 Main Home Office (including UKBA) 3 11 14 - 91 91 3 83 86 
			 Total 3 13 16 26 92 118 3 93 96 
			  Key: CER-Compulsory early retirement FER-Flexible early retirement UKBA-United Kingdom Border Agency

Departmental Sponsorship

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure  (a) her Department and  (b) its non-departmental public bodies incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Nick Herbert: Expenditure incurred on sponsorship in each year since 1997 for the Department and the non-departmental public bodies cannot be given without incurring disproportionate cost.
	The exception is spend that has been identified for the Identity and Passport Service in relation the National Identity Service and is shown in the following table. Records are unable to be identified of any sponsorship activity earlier than 2008, and to do so would also incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
			   Amount spent (£) 
			 2010 0 
			 2009 63,737.50 
			 2008 10,868.75

Detention Centres: Croydon

Malcolm Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to establish an immigration detention centre in Croydon; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 2 December 2010
	 There are no current plans to establish an immigration removal centre in Croydon.

Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to review the effects of the international treaties on drugs to which the UK is a signatory on the scope of UK legislation on drugs.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 3 December 2010
	The UK is currently a signatory to all three UN drug conventions: the single convention on narcotic drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 protocol; the convention on psychotropic substances of 1971; and the convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances of 1988.
	The Home Office has no plans to review the effects of international treaties on drugs to which the UK is a signatory.
	Drugs are a global problem. A co-ordinated international response is vital in our commitment to tackle drug misuse. The UK's Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 implements the provisions of the UN conventions on drugs to which we are signatories, and continues to provide a coherent legal framework.

Drugs: Crime

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the size of the illicit drug market.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 2 December 2010
	 The most recent estimate by the Home Office of the size of the UK illicit drugs market was published in 2006, which estimated the value of the UK illicit drug market at between £4-£6.6 billion for the reference year 2003-04. This report is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1606.pdf
	and I will place a copy in the Library.

Drugs: Crime

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the proportion of acquisitive crime which was drug-related in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 2 December 2010
	The last estimate for the proportion of acquisitive crime which is drug-related was published in 2005. This estimated that between one-third and a half of acquisitive crime was related to use of class A drugs. This report, 'Measuring the harm from illegal drugs using the Drug Harm Index', is available on the Home Office website at:
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/rdsolr2405.pdf
	and I will place a copy in the Library.

Entry Clearances: EU Nationals

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to make a decision on the application for a residence card as a family member of a European Economic Area national of the constituent of the hon. Member for Torbay, Ms Maria Bellucci (CTS Reference: B29682/9) and what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to process such applications.

Damian Green: The Home Office would not usually publicly discuss details of an individual's case. However, if my hon. Friend would care to write to me, I will provide an update on Ms Bellucci's status.
	The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has introduced a package of measures to speed up the consideration of applications for residence cards. UKBA has increased case working resources, restructured staff training, and put new case monitoring systems in place. These measures have allowed UKBA to reduce processing times for residence cards applications to under five months.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the future of the student visa system.

Damian Green: As the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) announced in her statement to Parliament of 23 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 169-71, the Government will shortly launch a public consultation on proposed changes to the student visa arrangements. The proposals will result in a more selective system and reduce the numbers to support our aim of reducing net migration to sustainable levels.

Fixed Penalties

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices in each category have been issued in the last two years.

James Brokenshire: Data on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for motoring offences (held by the Home Office), disorder offences (provided by the Ministry of Justice) and environmental offences (held by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) are provided in the following tables.
	The data provided are for the two most recent years for which data are available for each series.
	Detailed data on motoring FPNs and penalty notices for disorder are available in the Library of the House. Web links are as follows:
	For motoring fixed penalties:
	Police Powers and Procedures-England and Wales 2008-09 and 2007-08-chapter 3 -Fed Penalty notices
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/police-powers.html
	For penalty notices for disorder (PNDs):
	Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 2009, Supplementary Tables-chapter 2, table 2.1
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/criminalannual.htm
	Data for environmental FPNs are not published in official statistical bulletins, however data for England can be found at the following web link:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/docs/data/index.htm
	Data for Wales are published by the Welsh Government, available via the following web link.
	http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/cleanneighbour/fixedpenalty/0809/?lang=en
	
		
			  Number of fixed penalty notices issued in England and Wales by category and year( 1) 
			  Table 1: Motoring and environmental penalty notices 
			   Number of motoring FPNs issued  Number of environmental FPNs issued 
			 2007-08 2,599,983 42,241 
			 2008-09 2,289,778 45,076 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Penalty notices for disorder 
			   Number issued 
			 2008 176,164 
			 2009 170,393 
			 (1) Data provided for the two most recent years available for each series. Updates for all data series for more recent years will be published during 2011.

Hemp: Licensing

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on industrial growers of hemp of recent changes to licences for that activity under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

James Brokenshire: My officials have met with hemp growers, hemp industry representatives, and the National Farmers Union to discuss licensing arrangements that met their needs while conforming to the requirements of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and our international obligations under UN Conventions. The Home Office is currently reviewing licensing arrangements for industrial hemp with Business, Innovation and Skills, Department of Energy and Climate Change and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Human Trafficking

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to involve the third sector in formulating policy to reduce the incidence of human trafficking.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 2 December 2010
	The voluntary sector plays a key role in the identification of, and provision of support to, victims of human trafficking.
	We are strongly supportive of this role and will continue to work in partnership with voluntary organisations to reduce the incidence of human trafficking.

Immigration: Appeals

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals before the Immigration and Asylum tribunal were adjourned because no representative of her Department was present in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Damian Green: holding answer 1 December 2010
	The number of appeals which were adjourned because no Home Department representative was present (in each of the last five years for which figures are available) are:
	
		
			  Adjournments where no Home Office representative was present (percentage of all adjournments) 
			   AIT immigration judge stage  AIT reconsideration stage 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 2005-06 51 0.44 9 0.28 
			 2006-07 86 0.75 12 0.28 
			 2007-08 47 0.56 20 0.47 
			 2008-09 77 0.85 11 0.32 
			 2009-10 92 1.02 20 0.54 
			  Note: The percentage figures show the percentage of the total adjournments for the year. 
		
	
	On 15 February 2010, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal became part of the unified Tribunal system. The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) Immigration Judge stage is equivalent to the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and the AIT reconsideration stage is equivalent to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
	The statistical information provided is taken from locally held management information provided by the Tribunals Service. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols and its validity is completely reliant on the quality and timeliness of the information held on the database.

Immigration: Appeals

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to increase the level of her Department's representation at appeals before the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal.

Damian Green: holding answer 1 December 2010
	There is a difference in representation rates between the first-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) where all hearings are represented. At the first-tier appeal hearings are prioritised for representation initially on the basis of harm.
	There are a number of initiatives to increase representation at the first-tier Tribunal. We are currently in the process of training asylum case-owners to handle a wider range of appeal types. This will provide a flexible resource whereby case-owners can be utilised to increase overall representation in court.
	Work is also under way looking at how UK Border Agency can balance its presenting resource with the demand for appeals in regional hearing centres. We are working with the Tribunals Service looking at the forecasted volume and location of hearings to ensure that ties up with UK Border Agency's available resource.
	Other work has also been undertaken recently to analyse the productivity of our presenting resources with the aim of identifying ways to improve performance through introducing new working practices, some of which will be driven through modernising our IT systems.

Members: Correspondence

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter from the right hon. Member for Camberwell and Peckham dated 8 October 2010 on police numbers in Southwark.

Nick Herbert: I refer the right hon. and learned Lady to my letter of 30 November 2010, and will place a copy of that letter in the Library.

Members: Correspondence

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 7 September 2010 from the hon. Member for Torbay on his constituent, P. Griffith.

James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to my letter of 6 December 2010, and will place a copy of that letter in the Library.

National Police Improvement Agency

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements she plans to make for the undertaking of the functions of the National Police Improvement Agency after its closure.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office is currently working with the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), and the wider police service, to determine the most appropriate arrangements for those functions that will continue after the NPIA is phased out.

Police: Accountability

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements she plans to put in place for scrutiny of elected police commissioners.

Nick Herbert: In paragraph 2.16 of our response to the consultation on Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people, we state
	"We are keen to encourage independent candidates to stand for election alongside those candidates supported by the main political parties. In partnership with the Electoral Commission we will embark on a programme of activity which seeks to raise public awareness of Police and Crime Commissioners to secure a healthy voter turn out, and to encourage independent candidates to represent their communities."

Police Community Support Officers

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether responsibility for determining the number of police community support officers (PCSOs) will rest with proposed police commissioners; and who will decide in March 2012 how many PCSOs are to be  (a) retained and  (b) funded;
	(2)  what plans she has for funding of police community support officers after March 2012.

Nick Herbert: Decisions on the neighbourhood policing fund will be announced shortly when provisional policing settlements will be placed before the House.

Wood

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the compliance of her Department with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's criteria for sourcing sustainable timber.

Nick Herbert: The Home Office actively seeks to procure timber and wood derived products originating from either legal and sustainable or Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade licensed or equivalent sources. This is in line with UK Government timber procurement policy.

TREASURY

Capital Gains Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of  (a) increasing and  (b) reducing the capital gains tax annual exempt amount by £5,000.

David Gauke: HMRC holds limited data on individuals with gains below the annual exempt amount (AEA) due to reporting requirements. Estimating the behavioural response to large increases or decreases in the AEA is exceptionally difficult as there is little direct evidence and conflicting arguments about potential responses, therefore estimates can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Estimates of the revenue implications of small increases to the annual exempt amount for the new CGT regime will be available in Table 1.6 (Direct effects of illustrative changes tax changes) on the HMRC website from 31 December 2010.

Child Benefit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department undertook an equalities impact assessment in respect of his proposal to withdraw child benefit from households with one higher rate tax-payer; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: HM Treasury has considered the equalities impact of the change to child benefit. The Government published an 'overview of the impact of Spending Review 2010 on equalities' alongside the spending review document. This document considers the overall impact of the spending review on groups protected by equalities legislation and it can be found at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_equalities.pdf

Conflict Prevention: Finance

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding from his Department was allocated to the Conflict Pool in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 29 November 2010
	The Conflict Pool was created in 2009 by the previous Government by merging the Conflict Prevention Pool and Stabilisation Aid Fund. In 2010-11-the first full year of its existence-the Conflict Pool has a budget of £229 million.

Departmental Written Questions

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of questions to his Department tabled in  (a) the House of Commons and  (b) the House of Lords that remained unanswered after 10 working days as a result of observation of guidance on the timing of answers to similar Questions tabled to more than one Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: No such estimate has been made.

Employment: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people likely to be employed in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Glasgow and  (c) Glasgow East constituency in each of the next five years.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 2 December 2010
	The Treasury has not made estimates of employment for the public and private sectors in Scotland, Glasgow and Glasgow East. In devolved areas it is for the Scottish Government to make its own decisions and assessments of the employment effects of its policies. The latest forecasts for the whole of the UK were published by the Office of Budget Responsibility on 29 November.

Financial Services: International Cooperation

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to ensure that consumer protection in financial services forms part of the work of the G20 to address the global financial crisis.

Justine Greening: At the G20 Summit in Seoul on 11-12 November, where the Prime Minister represented the UK, G20 leaders asked the relevant international institutions to explore
	"options to advance consumer finance protection through informed choice that includes disclosure, transparency and education; protection from fraud, abuse and errors; and recourse and advocacy".
	They have been asked to report back by the next summit. The Summit Declaration can be found at
	http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/summits.html

Financial Services: International Cooperation

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on establishing an expert group to report to the G20 summit in 2011 to deliver recommendations on supporting effective financial consumer protection around the world.

Justine Greening: At the G20 summit in Seoul on 11-12 November, where the Prime Minister represented the UK, G20 leaders "asked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to work in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international organisations to explore, and report back by the next summit, on options to advance consumer finance protection...". The G20 will consider next steps once the FSB has completed its report. The Summit Declaration can be found at:
	http://www.g20.utoronto.ca/summits.html

Mortgages

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the regulatory effect of the proposals on mortgage lending made by  (a) the Financial Services Authority and  (b) the European Commission.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to a healthy housing and mortgage market.
	The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is conducting a wholesale review of mortgage regulation in the UK, the 'Mortgage Market Review'.
	The Government believe that it is right for the FSA to ensure that the UK mortgage market has responsible lending practices. We will continue to work with the FSA, mortgage lenders and intermediaries, and consumer groups to ensure a mortgage market that is sustainable for all participants.
	The FSA published 'Mortgage Market Review: Responsible Lending' in July. This paper forms one part of an ongoing consultation process.
	The FSA has stated that they will fully assess the potential impact on the market before implementing any rule changes.
	The European Commission has not yet announced any proposals on responsible lending. Should any proposals be put forward the Secretariat General requires that all Commission initiatives with significant impacts be supported by an impact assessment.

Mortgages

Marcus Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on fiscal measures to assist first-time homebuyers who decide to commit a large proportion of their income in mortgage payments in order to get onto the property ladder.

Mark Hoban: First time buyers of residential property worth up to £250,000 can claim relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of their first home. The relief is available for two years and will expire on 24 March 2012.
	The Government have committed to review this relief, taking into account its impact on affordability and value for money.

Mortgages

Marcus Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of borrowers who may not be able to take out remortgages following the introduction of the Financial Services Authority's proposals for the mortgage market; and if he will bring forward fiscal measures to assist such borrowers;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of mortgages granted since 2005 which would not have been issued under the Financial Services Authority's proposals for the mortgage market;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the likely regulatory burden arising from responsible mortgage lending proposals made by  (a) the Financial Services Authority and  (b) the European Commission;
	(4)  if he will take steps to ensure that  (a) self-employed homebuyers and  (b) other homebuyers with variable incomes will be able to obtain mortgages under the Financial Services Authority's proposals for the mortgage market.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to a healthy housing and mortgage market.
	The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is conducting a wholesale review of mortgage regulation in the UK, the 'Mortgage Market Review'.
	The Government believe that it is right for the FSA to ensure that the UK mortgage market has responsible lending practices. We will continue to work with the FSA, mortgage lenders and intermediaries, and consumer groups to ensure a mortgage market that is sustainable for all participants.
	The FSA published 'Mortgage Market Review; Responsible Lending' in July. This paper forms one part of an ongoing consultation process.
	The FSA has stated that they will fully assess the potential impact on the market before implementing any rule changes.
	The European Commission has not yet announced any proposals on responsible lending. Should any proposals be put forward, the Secretariat General requires that all Commission initiatives with significant impacts be supported by an impact assessment.

Private Finance Initiative

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to encourage local private finance initiative providers to renegotiate the terms of their contracts with local public bodies for the purpose of taking into account the effects on them of changes in the economic situation since those contracts were first negotiated.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 2 December 2010
	The Treasury continues to recommend that local authorities seek value for money in PFI contracts. Guidance on where value for money savings may be made within existing PFI contracts and where renegotiation is unlikely to provide value for money will be set out in due course. Treasury officials have met with a number of major equity holders in PFI contracts to discuss options for savings.

Public Expenditure

Hywel Francis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he took to ensure that the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review were compliant with the  (a) Human Rights Act 1998 and  (b) Equality Act 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury takes equalities matters very seriously. Policy makers are aware that all policies have to be Human Rights Act compliant and legal advice will be sought where there are concerns. In addition, where a measure resulting from the spending review requires primary legislation it will be accompanied by a statement under section 19 of the Act as to compatibility.
	There are currently statutory obligations on Government Departments to have regard to promoting equality in regard to gender, race and disability when considering policy changes.
	The 2010 Equality Act does not fully come into force until April 2011.
	Whether or not a full equality impact assessment will be carried out in any case depends on the likely impact of a proposed policy on members of the relevant groups of people and whether it would be proportionate and possible to do so.
	On 20 October 2010 the Treasury published an overview of the impact of the spending review on groups protected by equalities legislation.
	However, the Treasury does not dictate the details of how other Departments will live within their settlements-this will be for Departments to decide themselves. Other Government Departments will ensure that equality and human rights considerations are taken into account when these decisions are made. Decisions about the publication of Equality Impact Assessments are also for individual Departments to make.
	With regard to its own spending, the Treasury will ensure that equalities are taken into account as policies are developed following the spending review, in line with its legal obligations.

Public Expenditure: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the likely effects of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review on women in Wales.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury had a role to play in assessing the impact of public expenditure reductions as a whole during the spending review process. The Treasury made a qualitative assessment of the likely impact of the spending review on different groups using the information that is currently available, and these assessments were considered when decisions were made. Further assessments will be made by Departments themselves as they make decisions about the allocation of resources to different policy areas.
	The Government have not made an assessment of the likely effects of the outcome of the spending review on women in Wales. The role of the Treasury in making decisions about public expenditure in devolved areas of spending is to allocate resources-it is then up to these areas to decide how best to manage these resources. In devolved areas of spending it is for the Welsh Assembly Government to conduct their own equality impact assessments of policy proposals, in line with their legal obligations.
	The Treasury published the document, "Overview of Equalities Impacts of the Spending Review on Equalities" alongside the spending review announcement.

Public Sector: Redundancy

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his Department's impact assessment of the likely effects of reductions in the number of public sector jobs in areas where the private sector is classified as underdeveloped.

Danny Alexander: The United Kingdom faces the largest peacetime deficit in our history. The public sector paybill accounts for around half of departmental resource spending, so deficit reduction will inevitably impact on the public sector workforce. However, not tackling the deficit would be the worst thing for jobs in the medium term, across the public and private sector
	It will be for individual employers to determine the exact workforce implications of their settlements.
	The Treasury published information on actions being taken to encourage growth across the country, and how each region will benefit from schemes announced in the spending review, including capital investment programmes. This information is available online at
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/spend_sr2010_regions.htm

Rescue Services: Helicopters

Michael Dugher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the budgetary settlement agreed by his Department with the Ministry of Defence included an assumption that a proportion of the costs of the SAR (H) programme would be borne by the Ministry of Defence;
	(2)  whether his Department has been asked to approve a transfer of resources between the Ministry of Defence and Department for Transport as a result of the proposal to de-militarise the Search and Rescue (Helicopter) programme;
	(3)  whether the Ministry of Defence departmental expenditure limit he announced in the comprehensive spending review will be changed as a result of the proposal to de-militarise the Search and Rescue (Helicopter) programme; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 25 November 2010
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan) gave the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth), on 19 November 2010,  Official Report, column 967W.

Revenue and Customs: Complaints

David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs received in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: Complaints information for the last five years is published in HMRC Annual Reports for 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and the HMRC Departmental Accounts for 2009-10. The information is reported on an annual basis and is available from the HMRC website:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/reports.htm

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many compliance officers HM Revenue and Customs had on 5 April 2010; and how many he expects there to be on the same date in  (a) 2011 and  (b) 2012;
	(2)  how he proposes to allocate the funding his Department has announced for measures to reduce tax evasion;
	(3)  how much revenue which would otherwise have been lost through  (a) tax avoidance and  (b) fraud his Department has recovered in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and how much he expects to recover in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13.

David Gauke: Reducing tax loss, whether it stems from avoidance or evasion, is a key priority for this Government and we have recently announced that £900 million will be made available over the spending review period, to enable HMRC to step-up its activity in tackling tax loss to bring in £7 billion additional benefits per annum by 2014-15.
	HM Revenue and Customs deployed approximately 31,000 staff across all grades at 31 March 2010 on a variety of compliance activities including risk assessment, addressing inaccurate returns and verifying repayment claims, debt collection and criminal investigations across all heads of duty. We estimate that at 31 March 2011 there will be approximately 29,000 compliance staff. HMRC are expected to find resource savings of 15% through the better use of new technology, greater efficiency and better IT contracts. HMRC are not able to provide estimates for 2012 yet.
	HMRC are currently working on business plans which will be published in spring 2011. These will include for example a new team to crack down on offshore tax evasion and additional criminal investigations to increase the number of criminal prosecutions.
	The additional tax liability (including penalties and interest) resulting from all HMRC compliance work in 2008-09 was £12 billion. Data for 2009-10 is not yet available. HMRC do not have a breakdown of how much they hope to recover from compliance activity in 2011-12 or 2012-13. The Government's investment of £900 million should raise additional benefits of around £7 billion by 2014-15.

Revenue and Customs: Rural Areas

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision HM Revenue and Customs make for those in rural areas who are required to enter their tax returns online and who do not have broadband access.

David Gauke: Taxpayers who do not wish to or have difficulty in filing their income tax self-assessment return online have the option to file a paper return by 31 October following the end of the tax year concerned.

Social Security: Equality

Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what gender impact assessment his Department has undertaken to determine the relative effects of the implementation of his proposals regarding child benefit and entitlement to national insurance credits on  (a) men and  (b) women.

David Gauke: holding answer 1 November 2010
	The withdrawal of child benefit from families containing a higher rate taxpayer will not affect national insurance credits for state pension entitlement.

Students: Loans

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to enter the debts attributable to the Student Loan Company on the public sector balance sheet.

David Gauke: The total balance outstanding for the UK student loan book (including loans not yet due for repayment) at the end of the financial year 2009-10 was £35.95 billion. This figure is recorded in the national accounts as part of public sector net debt. The OBR in its 'Economic and fiscal outlook-November 2010', Box 4.3 page 123, gives an overview of how student loans are scored in the accounts and an estimate of how recent policy changes will affect the forecast.

Tax Allowances: Uprating

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to announce the next annual uprating of allowances and thresholds for tax and national insurance for 2011-12.

David Gauke: On 2 December the Government confirmed 2011-12 rates and thresholds for income tax, national insurance contributions (NICs), and tax credits. The limit for individual savings accounts (ISA) for 2011 -12 was also confirmed.
	A note containing this information was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and is available on the HM Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/tax_autumn_updates.htm

Tax Yields

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the real-terms growth of  (a) actual and  (b) underlying tax revenues in each year from 1985-86 to 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Office for National Statistics publishes tax receipts from 1946-47 to 2009-10 in "Public Sector Finances: Supplementary Data", which is available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=805
	Real terms growth of these tax receipts can be calculated the using GDP deflators that are published on HM Treasury website and available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/gdp_deflators.xls
	More information on cyclical adjustment methodology is set out in "Public finances and the cycle: Treasury Economic Working Paper No. 5", November 2008, available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407010852/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/prebud_pbr08_publicfinances.htm
	This information helps to inform any assessment of 'underlying' tax receipts.

Welfare Tax Credits

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit recipients who experience marginal deduction rates of  (a) 70% or less,  (b) between 71 and 73%,  (c) between 73 and 76% and  (d) over 76%.

David Gauke: Table A3 of the June Budget shows the Government's estimate of the number of working heads of families facing high marginal deduction rates in 2011-12 who are in receipt of income-related benefits or tax credits where at least one person works 16 hours or more a week, and the head of the family is not receiving pensioner or disability premia. For those in receipt of tax credits, around 400,000 are estimated to face a deduction rate of 70% or less; 1,345,000 a deduction rate of between 71 and 73%; 5,000 a rate of between 73 and 76%; and 145,000 a rate of over 76%.
	High marginal deduction rates are a long-standing problem that this Government are taking action to address through the new universal credit. This will replace the current complex system of means-tested working-age benefits with a simple streamlined payment. The universal credit will improve financial work incentives by ensuring that support is reduced at a consistent and managed rate as people return to work and increase their working hours and earnings.

Working Tax Credit: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of women in Wales who will be affected by the proposed reduction in the childcare element of the working tax credit from 80 per cent. to 70 per cent.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available.

Working Tax Credit: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of single  (a) women and  (b) men without children in Wales who will qualify for working tax credits in each of the next three years.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

Edward Garnier: The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General superintend the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, National Fraud Authority, Treasury Solicitor's Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. The only Law Officers' Departments which use press cuttings services are the Attorney-General's Office (formerly Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers), the CPS and the SFO and this answer is provided on their behalf.
	
		
			  Attorney-General's Office 
			  AGO press cuttings( 1) 
			  Financial year  Total (£ excl VAT) 
			 2000-01(2) 11,520 
			 2001-02 12,707 
			 2002-03 13,624 
			 2003-04 16,543 
			 2004-05 23,527 
			 2005-06 35,589 
			 2006-07 37,656 
			 2007-08 37,048 
			 2008-09 23,964 
			 2009-10 30,057 
			 2010-11 to date 12,352 
			 (1) There is no separate account coding for 'Press Cuttings' but based on recorded expenditure with press cutting suppliers since 2000-01, the expenditure on press cutting services for the Attorney-General's Office, excluding VAT, is above (2 )Figures prior to April 2000 are not held on the Department's current accounting system and cannot be accessed without incurring disproportionate costs. 
		
	
	
		
			  Crown Prosecution Service 
			  Financial year  Total (£ inclusive of VAT) 
			  CPS press cuttings  
			 1997-98 21,040.67 
			 1998-99 24,096.13 
			 1999-2000 24,045.55 
			 2000-01 24,635.53 
			 2001-02 19,107.95 
			 2002-03 23,926.08 
			 2003-04 28,741.23 
			 2004-05 24,135.14 
			 2005-06 30,724.78 
			 2006-07 30,192.39 
			 2007-08 27,636.98 
			 2008-09 19,879.94 
			 2009-10(1) 24,460.61 
			 2010-11 to date(2) 18,845.38 
			   
			  RCPO press cuttings  
			 2008-09 20,300.00 
			 2009-10 18,051.46 
			 2010-11 to date 857.28 
			 (1) The CPS merged with RCPO on 1 January 2010, and the total amount is a reflection of both the CPS's and RCPO's spending. (2) Includes online and broadcast media monitoring costs as well as press cuttings services. 
		
	
	
		
			  Serious Fraud Office 
			  SFO press cuttings 
			  Financial year  Total (£ excl VAT) 
			 1997-98 10,511 
			 1998-99 13,380 
			 1999-2000 10,630 
			 2000-01 8,826 
			 2001-02 8,535 
			 2002-03 14,769 
			 2003-04 16,913 
			 2004-05 15,838 
			 2005-06 14,341 
			 2006-07 28,261 
			 2007-08 13,908 
			 2008-09 16,574 
			 2009-10 15,342 
			 2010-11 to date 7,131

JUSTICE

Courts: Repossession Orders

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many landlord possessions claims were dismissed by courts because the claimant had not followed civil procedure rules in the first two quarters of 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not hold figures centrally on the number of landlord possession claims dismissed by courts because the claimant had not followed civil procedure rules in the first two quarters of 2010.
	While the administrative computer systems used in the county courts contain the incidence of orders made, those specifically relating to the dismissal of claims because the claimant had not followed civil procedure rules cannot be distinguished from other types of orders made. This information could be obtained only through the examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Contracts

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department plans to take to encourage and support small and medium-sized enterprises and third sector organisations to compete for departmental contracts, in line with value-for-money policy, UK regulations and EU procurement directives.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Cabinet Office recently announced a package of measures designed to help government meet their aspiration that 25% of government contracts go to small and medium sized enterprises. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure that these measures are embedded in its procurement practices.
	The MoJ also acts proactively to engage and attract the interest of the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE). Opportunities are currently advertised through Supply to Government and will shortly to migrate to the new Contracts Finder portal where all government opportunities over £10,000 will be published. Opportunities are also advertised through Clinks, a charity that assists in communication to the sector.
	Procurement activity is tailored to the value and complexity of the requirement but tends to be shorter and involve engagement opportunities with the sector via dialogue sessions to discus the requirement. MoJ has recently implemented an e-procurement tool that is easy for small businesses and the VCSE to use. The MoJ procurement processes comply with the Cabinet Office VCSE Compact compliant.

Departmental Data Protection

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions in the last three years the Secretary of State has used his power under section 59(2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 to release minutes relating to the business of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: Section 59(2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 protects information supplied to the Information Commissioner by public authorities and data controllers as part of his investigations into their compliance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts. The commissioner and his staff may not disclose this information except with lawful authority. To do otherwise is an offence. The commissioner has lawful authority to disclose information, among other circumstances, when a public authority or data controller gives consent to disclose.
	The decision whether the Department would consent to the release of information provided to the commissioner during the course of his investigations would be based on the merits of each request to do so and on the particular circumstances of the case.
	The Department does not keep central records of the instances which it has been approached for consent to disclose information by virtue of section 59(2). This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost by examining individual case records.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department and its predecessors spent on press cuttings services in each year since 1997.

Kenneth Clarke: The annual expenditure by MoJ-not including the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)-on press cuttings from 2005-06 onwards was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 62,278 
			 2006-07 23,009 
			 2007-08 56,663 
			 2008-09 94,075 
			 2009-10 (1)144,724 
			 (1) The primary cause of the higher spend in 2009-10 was the increase in high profile issues concerning the department in that Year. Additionally in 2009-10 regional coverage and a digital service were added. 
		
	
	The data for 2005-06 and 2006-07 refer to press cutting services provided for the Department of Constitutional Affairs (MoJ's immediate predecessor for the elements not contained within the Home Office). The data for 2007-08 to 2009-10 refer to a joint service provided to MoJ headquarters, the National Offender Management Service, The Tribunals Service and HM Courts Service.
	The total spend by the MoJ and its predecessors is held for locally only from 2005-06. Retrieving archived information for before 2005 would exceed the disproportionate cost and time limits.
	OPG was formed in 2007 and maintains a separate press cutting service. Its annual expenditure on these services was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 7,477 
			 2008-09 4,181 
			 2009-10 3,595 
		
	
	Additionally, the Tribunals Service has also maintained a separate press cutting service for web based news since May 2008. Its annual expenditure these services from May 2008 was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 May 2008 - July 2009 4,136 
			 August 2009 - July 2010 2,300 
			 August 2010 - July 2011 2,421 
		
	
	Before 2006 the tribunals were not part of one single agency. It would incur disproportionate costs to identify tribunals-specific expenditure in the various departments that operated tribunals between 1997-98 and 2005-06.

Departmental Publications

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the expenditure of his Department and its predecessor on printing  (a) Command Papers,  (b) papers laid before Parliament by Act,  (c) consultation documents and  (d) other papers in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice and its executive agencies produce a wide range of internal and external publications each year, including:
	Command Papers
	Papers presented to Parliament by Act
	Consultation documents
	As well as:
	Annual accounts
	Annual reports
	Public information material
	Statistical information
	Internal documents, guides and handbooks
	Copies of all the external publications the MoJ publishes can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications.htm.
	It is not possible to identify expenditure on specific types of publications without incurring disproportionate cost as this would involve examination of a very large number of transactions across a range of accounting categories.

Offenders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people convicted of criminal offences in the latest period for which figures are available had no previous cautions.

Crispin Blunt: 35% of offenders convicted for indictable offences in England and Wales in 2009 had no previous cautions, reprimands or warnings. These figures have been derived from the dataset used to produce table 6.2 of 'Sentencing Statistics: England and Wales 2009' which was published on 21 October 2010.
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Offenders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people who received cautions were subsequently convicted of a criminal offence in the latest period in which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: In 2008, 17% of juveniles who received a reprimand or warning and 16% of adults who received a caution were subsequently convicted of a criminal offence within one year.
	Further information on reoffending following a caution can be found in the 'Compendium of reoffending statistics and analysis' which was published on 4 November 2010, available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/compendium-reoffending.htm
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Offenders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the minimum period is after which a caution is considered spent.

Crispin Blunt: Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a simple caution is considered to be spent immediately, for both adult and juvenile offenders. A conditional caution is considered to be spent three months from when the caution is administered, again for both adult and juvenile offenders.
	We are conducting an assessment of sentencing and rehabilitation policies, and this will include the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. We will publish a Green Paper shortly with our proposals for consultation.

Offenders: Drugs

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance he has issued on the release on licence of offenders with unresolved drink or drug dependency issues.

Crispin Blunt: Guidance on the release on licence of offenders with unresolved drug dependency issues is contained in Probation Circular (PC36/2007) "Managing Drug Misusers under Probation Supervision: Guidance for Probation, Criminal Justice Integrated Teams and Counselling Assessment Referral Advice and Throughcare Teams". Additionally; "Drug Misusing Offenders: Ensuring the continuity-of-care between prison and community", provides specific guidance on managing the continuity-of-care journey that drug misusing offenders follow on entering prison from the community, whilst in prison, and exiting prison. "National Offender Management Service Alcohol Interventions Guidance", issued in December 2009, includes equivalent guidance for offenders with alcohol problems.

Offenders: Release

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under what circumstances offenders serving a custodial sentence following conviction for a violent offence may be released from custody on licence.

Crispin Blunt: Legislation requires that adult offenders serving an immediate determinate custodial sentence must be released from custody at the halfway point of the sentence. Those serving determinate sentences of 12 months or more serve the second half of the sentence on licence in the community under supervision, and subject to recall to custody. Eligible offenders serving a determinate sentence of less than four years may be released under the home detention curfew scheme up to four and a half months earlier than the half-way release point if they pass a risk assessment. Offenders serving an indeterminate sentence, either a life sentence or a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP), must serve in custody the full minimum term imposed by the court. After that point it is for the Parole Board to determine if and when they are safe to be released on licence.

Offenders: Sentencing

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider the merits of setting a minimum custodial sentence for offenders convicted of a second or third violent offence.

Crispin Blunt: We are conducting a full assessment of sentencing and rehabilitation policy to ensure it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting re-offending. We will consult on any proposals shortly.

Office of the Public Guardian: Complaints

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints the Office of the Public Guardian received in the last 12 months; and how many such complaints were responded to within its target timescale.

Jonathan Djanogly: In the period of November 2009 to October 2010 the Office of the Public Guardian responded to 3,521 complaints. 2,650 (75%) of these responses were provided within the published 10-day target.

Preston Prison: Health Services

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of HM Prison Preston's certified normal accommodation consists of healthcare beds.

Crispin Blunt: Current records indicate that 30 places in HMP Preston's baseline certified normal accommodation of 453 are in in-patient health care units.

Prisoners: Custodial Treatment

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners with a drink or drug dependency are appropriately treated while in custody.

Crispin Blunt: Drug treatment is in place to help prisoners with addiction, comprising clinical services, psychosocial interventions, case management and through care services, Alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services for those with an alcohol dependency are in the main also provided within the wider drug treatment framework. The key interventions available in prison for those dependent on alcohol are clinical detoxification and Alcoholics Anonymous/peer support.
	The Government believe more needs to be done to offer offenders the opportunity to get off drugs and alcohol for good and into a position where they can stop offending and make a proper contribution to society. To achieve this we will run pilots to pay contractors by results to rehabilitate offenders with drug problems, launch prison drugs recovery wing pathfinders in a number of prisons. These plans will be outlined in more detail in a Green Paper on the rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders, which will be published shortly.

Prisoners: Drugs

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of people diagnosed with a drink or drug dependency on entering prison had successfully completed treatment for such dependencies on release in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not record data in the form requested. However the number of prison-based accredited drug and alcohol treatment programme commencements and completions for 2009-10 is shown in the following table.
	Additionally prison and health records show that in 2009-10 health services delivered 60,067 clinical interventions for drug and alcohol addiction in prisons.
	
		
			  Starts and completions table 2009-10-Prison-based accredited drug and alcohol treatment programmes( 1) 
			  Programme  Starts  Completions 
			 12-Step (Drugs) 666 387 
			 12-Step (Alcohol) 180 143 
			 Alcohol Related Violence 40 16 
			 Focus 95 84 
			 Prisoner Addressing Substance Related Offending 3,378 2,727 
			 Short Duration Programme 5,202 3,799 
			 Substance Treatment Offending Programme 384 312 
			 Therapeutic Community (Men) 247 155 
			 Therapeutic Community (Women) 14 6 
			 Total 10,206 7,629 
			 (1) These data have been drawn from administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisoners: Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to answer of 25 November 2010,  Official Report, column 458W, on reoffenders, whether his Department plans to collect data on the reoffending of offenders treated for drug addiction in prison.

Crispin Blunt: We are exploring what data will be required as part of the plans by Government to develop pilots to pay providers by results, including for the rehabilitation of offenders with drug problems.
	The details of this are currently being considered by a cross Government working group led by the Department of Health.

Prisoners: Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 23 November 2010,  Official Report, column 287W, on heroin addiction, how many adults were remanded or sentenced in 2009-10.

Crispin Blunt: 1,315,820 adult offenders (aged 18 and over at the point of sentence) were sentenced in England and Wales during the calendar year 2009(1). In 2009 an estimated 71,500 defendants were remanded in custody at magistrates court or the Crown court.
	It is not known how many offenders were heroin addicts at the point of sentencing.
	Sentencing data for 2010 are planned for publication as a calendar year report in spring 2011.
	(1) http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm

Prisons

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to market-test publicly-owned prisons.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are currently developing their programme for competition in offender services. As indicated in the Ministry of Justice business plan, we will publish this programme in June 2011.

Probation: Finance

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much funding his Department allocated to the  (a) Probation Service,  (b) Prison Service and  (c) Courts Service in the west midlands in 2009-10; and what estimate he has made of the level of equivalent funding in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

Crispin Blunt: Funding for the Probation Boards and trusts in the west midlands in 2009-10 was £97.1 million and is estimated at £94.5 million for 2010-11. Current estimates for 2011-12 anticipate real terms reductions of approximately 4.5%. Estimates have not yet been made for subsequent years but will be impacted by the funding allocated to NOMS from within the MoJ's SR10 financial settlement with HM Treasury. That funding level has yet to be agreed by the executive management board.
	Funding for prisons in the west midlands in 2009-10 was £193.7 million and is estimated at £ 197.4 million in 2010-11. Current estimates for 2011-12 anticipate real terms reductions of approximately 3%. Estimates have not yet been made for subsequent years but will be impacted by the funding allocated to NOMS from within the MoJ's SR10 financial settlement with HM Treasury. That funding level has yet to be agreed by the executive management board.
	Funding of the Courts Service in the west midlands in 2009-10 was £45.818 million and is estimated at £45.626 million for 2010-11. Estimates have not yet been made for subsequent years but will be impacted by the funding allocated to HMCS from within the MoJ's SR10 financial settlement with HM Treasury. That funding level has yet to be agreed by the executive management board.

Sexual Offences: Community Orders

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken was between the making of a community order with a condition of a  (a) sex offender programme and  (b) group general offender behaviour programme and the commencement of that programme in each probation trust in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 30 November 2010,  Official Report, column 709W.

Squatting: Crime

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 543W, on squatting: crime, which commitments in the coalition agreement could prevent the strengthening of the law in relation to squatting in residential properties.

Crispin Blunt: In reviewing the law in relation to squatting in residential premises the Government will be mindful of two specific commitments in the coalition agreement. They are the need to guard against the proliferation of unnecessary criminal offences and to protect the right to peaceful protest.